(dramatic music)
- Welcome back.
12 years ago I flown on a Boeing 747SP
of Syrian Air, just like this.
It was such a memorable flight.
There was a 12-hour delay at the beginning.
Then there was a fight inside the aeroplane.
And after we take off the destination was changed.
So now let's enjoy this video and fly together.
(engines roar)
So our trip started like this at Dubai Airport in 2008.
I was so surprised how many passenger
turn up at this Syrian Air check-in counter
with lots and lots of baggage.
So just about we were lining up to board the flight
the passenger who boarded earlier were actually
sent back on the air bridge.
They came back out and then we realized
something was going on.
And later on there was an announcement made.
The flight is delayed.
So all the passenger were kept at the gate area,
waiting for further announcement.
We waited and waited for about an hour,
and suddenly the announcement saying the flight
had something went wrong.
They have to fly in a team of engineer
from Damascus to repair the plane.
So they told us that we have to wait about nine to 10 hours.
The revised departure time turned to be 1:00 a.m.
It's all the passenger, including myself,
have to leave the gate area
because the gate was reassigned for the next plane.
(dramatic music)
Later on we actually found our refuge
in the Marhaba Lounge because I had a credit card
allowing me to go to the lounge.
(mellow music)
So I was very lucky compared to a lot of other passenger
who have absolutely no news, just waiting
inside the air side for nine hours.
So at about half past midnight we moved
from the Marhaba Lounge to the new boarding gate.
Man, there was a mass at the gates.
There were passenger all over the gates
and they looked tired and they're waiting
to board the flight.
(crowd chattering)
So the new boarding gate was actually a remote gate.
We had to go downstairs and board by bus.
Then the bus took us all the way out
to the Syrian Air 747SP waiting for us on the ramp.
At this point I got so excited, the plane was massive.
And then we were boarding the Syrian SP by staircase.
The name on the Syrian Air 747SP
is a great one, the Arab Solidarity.
So after about 10 hours' delay in Dubai
we finally got onboard the 747SP of Syrian Air.
And what a surprise, the flight attendant
actually told me come follow him,
and I follow him to the nose of the aero plane.
He gave me seat 1A to sit down.
They actually have to remove somebody to put me here,
and I don't know what reason they want to put me here.
They were so nice, but later I found out
there were actually security guard watching me.
So during the boarding, the captain
actually came down from the cockpit upper deck
with the flight engineer, they're talking about something.
Then I noticed there was a broken long pipe
sitting on the ground over the other side
of the longitudinal galley.
So all the passenger were brought by the buses,
one by one, so we had a pretty lengthy
boarding time on the ground.
During halfway to boarding there was a fight
broke out around the door one where people were entering.
They were complaining, shouting Arabic.
They were just saying they didn't get treated with dignity,
they didn't get informed about any news about delay
and then they have a fierce fight with the captain.
And the captain was standing here, yelling back.
And then later the captain escaped.
He went back upstairs, go inside the cockpit
and locked himself in the cockpit
and made it a PA announcement.
Basically, he was telling anyone doesn't follow
the crew instruction or follow his instruction,
please leave the plane.
And then you got a few really fired-up people here
actually decided just to leave the plane.
And so we end up with a further delay
because we had to search their baggage
and offload their baggage before we take off.
(dramatic music)
On Syrian Air, the safety card looks exactly like
the Pan Am safety card, it was indeed like a copy.
They also have written, "747, Just in case,"
on top of the card, just looked like this one here.
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So finally, we departed at 4:00 a.m.
There was actually a quick inflight service conducted
right after takeoff, so we were given a meal choice.
I had a really nice Hamour fish with rice
and also with dessert and salad.
So the food was pretty good.
So I got pretty tired after eating that meal at 4:00 a.m.
And then there was an announcement just being made,
saying our destination has changed once we took off.
Now our final destination is Aleppo
instead of the original destination, Damascus.
I was expecting there would be another riot
and a war would break out in the cabin
because Damascus and Aleppo is about six-hour drive.
But every passenger was so tired
and it was actually surprisingly calm.
The reason the destination was changed was because
in Damascus there was an Arab summit being held
so the airport was closed to VIP
and head of state traffic only.
(engines roar)
So we arrived at Aleppo at 6:00 a.m. in the morning,
and actually I was allowed to come upstairs
to the upper deck of the 747SP to take a look.
There were two security guard guarding the cockpit here,
so the didn't let me go into the cockpit.
The security guard was showing me the wallpaper.
They had beautiful wallpaper around on the staircase.
There was absolutely no overhead bin.
There is a small galley at the rear
and there is 16 velvety seats.
(upbeat music)
So Aleppo has very small terminal.
Suddenly it became very crowded with
300 passenger arriving on the SP,
and also everybody has lots and lots and lots of baggage.
The thing I felt really sorry is seeing
these passenger was so tired after about 14-hour delay.
They finally arrive in Syria, but they have to hop on
the other six-hour bus ride back to Damascus.
So for my friend Rone and myself,
we actually wanted to visit Aleppo.
We were originally thinking to take a Tupolev 134
domestic flight from Damascus to Aleppo.
But because of Damascus has been totally closed
for the Arab summit, so we actually
kind of fast-track ourself into Aleppo on the SP.
So that was a very unique experience
and very memorable experience because
of that long delay, the fight broke out.
I was rather glad to visit Aleppo at that time in 2008.
The city was really historical.
There were lots of historical sites.
Visited the citadel, the monastery, the Souq.
As you can see, after about another couple years
Aleppo was totally destroyed in the war.
(mellow music)
The good news is now, recently,
the airport has reopened again, so let's hope
that the peace will return to Syria very soon.
Well, speaking about my past flying experience
on Syrian Air 747SP got me really excited.
I hope you guys enjoyed it just as much as I do
and thank you so much again for watching.
(engines whining)
(air whooshes)
(bell dings) (bubble pops)