Unexpected (minor) hurdles getting from Sardinia to London

Remembers me to my trip in Sweden when I forgot that this was midsummer weekend. Finding anything open was not easy.

avoid French airspace, due to a strike! That’s a new one.

Our French neighbors traditionally care intensely for an active employer-employee-relation - nicely said. They are known for this, also with heavy impact on air traffic.

Have a good onward journey.

French air traffic controllers seem to be on strike quite regularly. It’s a common reason for flight delays. It always seems like a good job so not sure why they are so aggrieved.

OK, we reached Gatwick, and had a long line to get through immigration. Like in the old days, everybody (regardless of nationality) took their passport to a person in a booth. The e-gates were roped off, just showing a lit-up red X, to indicate not to try going through. Strike at the airport in Britain, too?

The flight on easyJet took a surprising route. I dozed off for about 45 minutes after takeoff, and waking up, realized that we were over land, with a sea coast beyond it on the right side of the plane. I was certain that we had to be beyond Sardinia, and if we couldn’t fly over French territory, it couldn’t be Corsica below. What, then, could have an eastern coastline if we were still more than 2 hours from London?

I asked a flight attendant, who checked with the pilot. She same back to say that Venice was just off to the right of the plane. So we’d left from a big island west of mainland Italy, and had basically crossed the whole mainland to its eastern edge, in order to fly northwest to England, but bypassing France. Seemed out of the way, but we got nowhere close to French airspace! Soon after, snow-capped mountains started appearing below. I’m pretty sure I saw Innsbruck, with lots of snow still in the Austrian Alps. The pilot later came on to announce that we’d be passing over Stuttgart and Frankfurt, and the Netherlands before reaching London.

Thinking more about it, and realizing that this was a Thursday, any strike involving France was clearly carefully planned. Off on Thursday, stretch things out and “bridge” over the weekend, and include Monday, too. A three-day holiday weekend is t unusual in the USA. With careful planning, a strike could turn into a 5-day weekend.

I'm guessing those who were part of the resistance and fought to liberate Italy wouldn't be too happy with your american-centric view of this day

... the Brits had a hand in it too - my father (a Commando) was in Sicily, Montecassino, the drive to Rome, and finished the war in the north. Always before the main forces, doing things behind the lines.

Americans were certainly involved, but not the only game in town. Sorry, Cyn

Nigel, there was no offence intended, and I certainly appreciate that your father, and many other Brits and additional contributors were all involved in defeating the “bad guys.” Lives were lost, and great sacrifices were made by so many people to make that happen - more than I can even imagine, I’m sure. I was just repeating what a fellow potential petrol customer (a Sardinian/Italian) said at the next pump about the Italian observance of the date. He was focused on getting his fuel, I’m sure, and wasn’t providing a thorough description of the contributors to Italy’s “liberation.” Perhaps he was simplifying his explanation for an obvious American.

The American 10th Mountain Division trained in Colorado to develop skiing and mountaineering skills, and suffered severe casualties in Italy, although many survivors wound up creating the recreational ski industry that has been a major factor in Colorado’s tourism. Behind-the-scenes fighters certainly didn’t get as much notice, or recognition.

It seems somewhat ironic that the fascist Italian government in the 1930’s fought against the Allies, but then Italy joined them, and was then liberated by Allied forces. I’ve heard tour guides in Italy talk now about the Fascists as if they were an unfortunate element from long ago, a somewhat curious blip in history. Vanquishing it would be reason to celebrate, Not having a relapse is important.

Imo the facism is by far not finished yet in Italy. A museum for Mussolini? Think of world's reaction if Germans would build an AH museum. They also forgot and still forget successfully their death camps in North Africa. But honestly only very few nations are honest enough to look back and reappraise their history. Think of colonialism or racism in all what we call great nations.

Update: I know that many in Nigel’s family, not just his father, had key roles fighting the Fascists in WW II. But a waiter in London two nights ago was from Sardinia, I mentioned Liberation Day holiday. He also opined that it was Americans responsibile. That may be the general impression of Sardinians, wrong or right.