Today I drove out to the airport to pick up Iris, back from her meditation course. She flew on the new airline, Impulse, which was good, because she kind of flew on… ummm… impulse. That is, it was a change from the original plan, which was to get a lift back with someone else.
So I drove to the airport and strolled along to the new "Domestic Express" terminal, which is where the new airlines like Impulse and Virgin Blue hang out. The terminal opened all of six days ago, and so it’s all shiny and new, though airport terminals always look like that anyway. The only thing that’s a bit disconcerting is that it all looks… well… a little bit Mickey Mouse. The whole terminal looks like a giant school portable, except that it’s got better air-conditioning. There’s none of the usual awful advertising to poke fun at on the way along the corridors. No newsagent, no chemist, no gift shop selling crappy stuff that you only buy because you realise you’re meeting someone on a visit (yours or theirs) and you should be giving them something, even if it is crap that will be thrown straight into the bin as soon as the visit’s over.
The three people at the security gate didn’t seem too overstretched, though I suppose it might be different when a couple of planes are about to take off. Looking through the window at the tarmac, I could see one plane about to take off. Unlike elsewhere at MEL, the people had to actually walk outside to the plane and climb steps to board. The only time I’ve arrived on a plane like that, it felt so odd to be stepping down onto the runway that it left me feeling like royalty, but I can see it would be a right pain if it were raining.
