Only the peanut sellers were missing

(Welcoming Indian Airlines back to Kathmandu)

Our IA flight from Calcutta to Kathmandu was due to leave early morning. The dawn was soft, a gentle humid air wafting across the city. At the airport, the check-in queue was no longer than usual. Equally routine, the flight was delayed, allowing time to investigate the limited scenery of Dum Dum airport. The departure time shifted to 11:00 a.m. and then to noon, and then on to some indeterminate hour. It was a pleasant surprise, therefore, when the flight was called circa 13:00. We slid smoothly past the security guards and, being somewhat experienced travellers, managed to find a seat on the first bus out to the Airbus 320.

We made our way across the tarmac to an airplane, but the flight crew was clearly surprised to see us. There was none of the usual pre-departure bustle, and mechanics and staff eyed the bus suspiciously. Our doors remained closed. Then the Airbus commander deigned to come down and shout through the glass, "We're not going to Kathmandu!" A five-minute Hindi-English-Bengali debate ensued between the captain, the bus driver and an increasingly irate group of self-confident been-there-done-that Indian businessmen passengers. Nepalis and some Americans, who made up the rest of the bus, watched the drama unfold.