How I was lost at the airport of Heathrow

This story happened for quite some time &# 8212; 12 years ago. However, the sharp feelings experienced by me then instantly pop up from the bottom of the memory well, as if everything happened quite recently.

In Heathrow I was lost on the famous Dublin International Theater Festival come theaters from around the world

Our theater was invited to the festival in Dublin. Rushed a huge group that was divided into two parts. The first part left the day before. The staged part of the troupe went in its composition: scenery mobers, costumes, investors, grimerals, and most importantly, the Directorate. With the same group, our translator flew away. Saying good, the director told me: "All hope&# 8230; ", Because of the members of the second group, I only spoke in English.

From Moscow to Dublin we flew not by direct flight, but through London. The reasons why you chose this way to get to Ireland, I do not know. It is possible that it was cheaper.

Our group landed in the London Heathrow Airport, received baggage. Everyone was calm: we said in advance that the transplant to the Dublin flight will be in the same terminal. Therefore, knowing that in stock we have three hours, no one has become fussing. It was important to go through customs control and quietly expect landing on our flight.

What is for a our man in a passage airport "Quiet to expect"? This is a shopping pilgrimage &# 171;Duty Free&# 187;.

We found the search you need. Seeing near him the exit to the street, ran up to ventilate. Then the inspection was passed. Claims did not prevent us. Only some, I, including, lost my lighters. Before the customs officer on passport control, we are slightly stuck. The officer looked into our passports and explained clear English to us that we could not miss us because we have, with an Irish visa, there is no transit visa of the United Kingdom.

In response, I tried to tell him with the help of my memory of English words and British intonations that we fly to Dublin. In the London airport, we will have time for only an hour, we will not go to the city, and for this visa of Great Britain, as we talked in visa services, do not need.

Convinced his argument that yesterday at exactly the same visas through the "Heathrow" in Dublin proceeds not less than the group of our colleagues. He began to put stamps in passport. The administrator of our Theater decided to stand at the rack to the last of our person, clutching into my hand dead grip and not vacationing me. Beyond his friends hiding behind the turn, I managed to shout so that they wait for me there, did not go.

When transit stamps were supplied to our passports, the administrator with the administrator turned over the cherished angle, where our. Naturally, there was no one. We knew our gate number. I told the confused administrator that I would go search for ours and return. And went.

"Heathrow" – a big airport. I knew it. In theory.

London Airport Heathrow

Our Sheremetyevo is also rather big, but in those days he has not yet had such a number of terminals. I went myself and went. Passed the Duty Free zone, then turned out to be in the air corridor. This is such a big pipe separated by in the middle of a glass wall into two sections.

On the semi of each section, the tape-conveyor belt. In huge windows of a semicircular wall, you could see other airport buildings, parking airports, a car and buses were passing under the corridor on the ground. I then appreciated the magnitude of the main London airport. Long corridor – I will not lie about his length, but 300 meters in it was accurate – led me to the landing zone.

There was empty. Only two security officers were sitting for their resistant. Our future output I saw immediately. No one of my colleagues in this compartment of the airport was.

Clearly, before landing remained decent time who will sit and miss the place where there is no cafe, no stores?

I clarified the guards, right here will land on Dublin flight. I was answered that everything is accurate, only before landing. And I turned back to the corridor.

One of the security officers stopped me and said: "Sir, you do not see what is written?". Over the door hung a green scoreboard with the inscription "No entry". I asked confused: "And where to me?". The employee smiled and pointed his hand to the next door.

Over it opened the second part of the air corridor. I must have blushed densely from my own stupidity, because, thanking, I sigane the door and rushed back to the administrator on the second section of the corridor.

On running I thought about British loyalty to the traditions and rules, we just, just the opposite, you enter where it came out, as more convenient. No, in England it is not: it is written "it is impossible!", Not a mog and think so that you can"!". After all, my colleagues: I asked not to leave, wait, now it would be together in a cafe for a cup of coffee or we would consider the shelves in stores.

The corridor brought me to the hall of receipt of baggage. It was completely empty. Back to the corridor did not make sense, it was necessary to get out of the luggage hall. It was not anyone to ask. In the bottom of the abdomen, I felt the opposite chill.

I rushed to the doors, getting ready to knock and bang, because by our concepts the hall should be closed, since it does not work. But the doors were open, I came out.

Around me was huge&# 8230; No, Gigantic Hall Airport "Heathrow". People went through everywhere, shops and cafes worked, everything sparkled, sparkling, blurred with lights. Only to answer the reciprocity of this holiday life I could not: I needed to find our. Now the vector changed – most likely, I was already enough, the hair was torn, worried! I rushed to look for that inspection item.

I walked and walked, and I did not find places. Shops and cafes did not interest me at all. On the way, I saw the rack of the airline, the aircraft of which we had to fly to Dublin. I handed the passport, the company’s employee quickly issued me a boarding pass. At the same time, he looked at the clock and, shaking his head, said: "Sir, a little time left before landing".

I rushed through the sparkling and deceiving world "Heathrow". I no longer loved him. I was ready to hate him. Suddenly, between two cafes, I saw some low partition, followed by two of our tables. I rushed to them.

Speak through the partition I did not allow my own dignity. So I ran further. The clock on the hand seemed to have acquired a built-in microphone and tickly on the whole London. Finally, the inspection item. I recognized it. I passed it again, again "presented" to employees a lighter, as on request for such a case, there were two of them with me. I flew through the air corridor, zoom the speed helped me the tape-conveyor.

Rushing along the corridor, for the glass wall I saw three of my friends-colleagues. These reptiles smiled at me and, driving, signs showed that they went to smoke. I desperately stood my head from side to side, shouted to them: "Do not go, you will not come out!" They left.

I flew out of a corridor pipe to our landing. Nobody experienced joy from my appearance. No one even turned his head into my side. I turn out, no one lost. I am walking around the airport, just to find them, just not to give them a reason for concern, and all, even the administrator, which I promised to return, were sure that I was somewhere near.

Disappointment to my and powerless malice. I sat, calming my breath about a long run, and was ready to break the first one who approached me. Nobody approached.

Those smokers that I saw on the other side of the air corridor returned to the landing. They passed through the inspection twice. It turned out, one of this trinity left a passport and ticket with his own things. I had to be second to stay with him, and the third to rush to the entrance to the landing for documents and to do the way to the point of inspection again.

As they later told, the British were very surprised why this ours love to pass inspection.

There was a week in Dublin ahead. New impressions of the new country pretty quickly forced me to forget about my unpleasant adventure in Heathrow. But still the memories of this are alive in me still.