Have you ever heard of Gander, Newfoundland, Canada? I can’t say I had. But now we’re here. United flight 914 had some oil trouble with one of its engines midway over the Atlantic, and had to turn around.

At first, the flight crew was trying to make it back to Boston, where we would have more options and wouldn’t have to go through customs. We were going to land in Boston at just about the same time we were originally supposed to reach Paris. But even that didn’t work out, and we diverted to Gander International (CYQX).

United is sending a “rescue plane” from Chicago to pick us up and take us to Paris, but it won’t arrive until 6 pm Gander time (1.5 hours ahead of DC) tomorrow.

Meanwhile, we get to enjoy the chilly air of Gander. Unfortunately, we don’t get to enjoy it with our checked luggage, which contains any and all sweaters and/or jackets. At least there is free Wi-Fi in the airport. I’m pretty sure the restaurants aren’t as good as in Paris.

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Tagged: air travel

David Alpert created Greater Greater Washington in 2008 and was its executive director until 2020. He formerly worked in tech and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco Bay, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He lives with his wife and two children in Dupont Circle.