Standard long haul flight of 15 hours, sleep, movie, music, cramps in limbs from lack of movement, twisting and trying to get comfortable enough to squeeze in a few hours sleep.

Then we get to Sydney, earlier than expected, but it’s cloudy, raining and big storm clouds, no vision at all. Anyway you have to trust these planes and pilots, but I’m thinking this feels a little scary as the screen map shows us heading over Botany Bay, but all I can see is a white, odd glimpse of the ground then all of a sudden the engines are screaming and we’re into a steep climb. He pulled out of the the landing, the passengers are very quiet. Some underwear changes are probably needed after that. The captain comes on the pa and tells us he aborted the landing due to the storm being very heavy and unpredictable and hopefully we’d land soon. There is a distinct heavy storm band right over the city. We’re now over the Northern beaches and he comes on again and says its too dangerous to land in Sydney and we need refuel so we’re off to Brisbane,xthen hopefully the storm will have abated in Sydney and we’ll fly back there.

I was talking to the head steward ( nice Philipino guy) and he says this rarely happens. He said these planes are so large and stable that you know when they are shaking like this one was that the storm was bad.

Brisbane is clear as a bell, the plan is a 20 minute refuel then back to Sydney. One of the toilets is blocked so there is a line up for the middle lot of loos. I reckon the scare in Sydney might have filled the tanks a bit

Ciao from Brisbane International Airport

Pauolo