More Transportation Ridiculousness
Instead of taking 3 trains to get to the airport in Rome - where we would stay overnight in a nearby hotel before our flight the next morning - we opted for the Sorrento-Naples airport shuttle and then a short flight to Rome. Easy, right?
The bus idea was a great one. Ten euro, and hour-and-fifteen-minutes to Naples airport. We would arrive almost too early for our flight, but the other option was to cut it a little close, so opted for the earlier departure. And thank god we did.
The hour-and-fifteen turned into…3 hours. Traffic, construction, and traffic…on small winding roads through all the little towns along the way north. I think it took over an hour just to get out of the greater Sorrento area. Unlike many of our fellow passengers, we ended up arriving in plenty of time for our flight, only to walk into the airport, check the departure board, and there it is - CANCELLED.
We approached the check-in desk and were told the flight was indeed cancelled, no explanation. Our passports were checked, names scribbled on a yellow legal pad (!) along with the growing list of other passengers. There would be…a bus.
Us: OK, what time and where?
Agent: (waves hand toward front doors, where 8 buses are parked or moving) 3:45, in front.
Us: Where in front?
Agent: (waves hand again) Out there. You are on the list.
Armed with this helpful bit of detailed info, we proceeded to look for the bathroom (signs directed you to an elevator - took us a while to realize that the only bathrooms were in the basement), get some coffee and bite to eat, all in a small regional airport that, like Palermo, did not have enough seating.
At about 3, we checked in with the agent again, who again waved us to the front doors. Passengers were starting to gather, where another agent - list rolled up in his hand - stood by the front doors offering absolutely no information or instructions to anyone. 3:45 pm came and went, and at about 4:30, the crowd was finally directed outside where we had to load our luggage in the hold of a bus and line up to board.
And they did not have enough seats on the bus. We were the very last two passengers to board, anyone behind us had to fetch their luggage and - I guess? - wait for another bus.
Two-and-a half hours later, we arrive at the Rome airport. Half the bus had missed connections. We still had no explanation about the cancelled flight.
ITA would later email me that the cancellation was due to “extraordinary circumstances” of air traffic control restrictions at Naples, and there would be no refund. Despite other flights departing, apparently, just fine.
Another day of transportation woes driving us to drink.
