Our trip started in Nice, France. Unfortunately, there are no direct flights from LAX to Nice. That meant layovers in Newark, NJ, both going and coming home. That's not a big deal leaving the USA, but getting back is a different story. We knew from previous experience that we would go through customs in Newark (see our 28 hour day coming home from Barcelona in 2011 here.) Our scheduled layover was under two hours. Everywhere we were staying had laundry available, so we made the decision to travel with only carry-on luggage for this trip. This would mean when we got back to Newark, we could go through customs and then head directly to security instead of waiting to pick up luggage and re-check it. This ended up being a very good decision!
I woke up Friday morning, July 19th, excited to check in for my flight and get going. Unfortunately, when I went to the United Airlines app I saw this:
My heart was immediately filled with dread! It wasn't just air travel that was disrupted, but banking, hospitals and 911 systems were hit with this glitch. In a nutshell, the issue was due to a single bug in a software update from cybersecurity
company CrowdStrike, which provides antivirus software for Microsoft
users.
Monica was going to be flying on Delta Airlines from Indianapolis to Atlanta, then on to Nice. We started texting and stressing together! My flights were showing on time, but I couldn't check in. Her flights were showing canceled. This was us:
It took a few hours, but eventually we were both checked in. I started packing and went to bed with my flights still showing on time. I got to LAX Saturday morning with no issues, went through security and found my gate. It was pretty calm there. United was offering $2,500 to people who would be willing to reschedule their flights. Tempting, but I had places to be!
I grabbed a coffee and checked in with Monica. Unfortunately, things weren't looking good for her. In fact, before I left LA, we found out her flight was canceled! Her flight from Atlanta to Nice was still on time, but her flight from Indy to Atlanta was canceled. Long, stressful story short - Monica ended up booking flights with United leaving on Sunday - Indy to Newark, 10 hour layover in Newark, then to Nice. She arrived 24 hours after I did.
My flights were uneventful, I even managed to get a little sleep. I arrived in Nice at about 10:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Passport control was a breeze and within minutes I was on my way out of the airport looking for my beloved! It was a crazy ride from the airport to our lodging for the next couple of nights - the Belle Maison Située Face au Château-musée du Haut de Cagnes (Beautiful House Located Opposite the Château-museum of Haut de Cagnes.) I'll do a full post on this next.
