One more trip was now coming to an end; within hours we would be at the airport and flying home. It was also forecast to be the hottest day of the holiday by far. Typical.

Our Airbnb host hadn’t provided us with check-out instructions, so we simply tidied up, and left the rubbish bag to one side ready to be picked up. As it turned 11:00, we were lugging our luggage across the cobbled streets of the old town to Staroměstská, and took the metro from there, and then the trolley bus to the airport. Each leg of the journey was timed so we had no more than a minute of waiting around.

When we reached the airport we got there so early that we had to wait for the bag drop to open. Whilst there we heard someone ranting about it being “the worst check-in” they’d ever experienced just because they were told to remove their iPad from their checked luggage. The same thing you have to do in every airport.

The passport control was pleasantly short, and didn’t take long. On arrival it was fingerprints and a photo, but on the way out it was photo only. Carmen however, who’d previously been able to use EES, had to do both. We’d been concerned that this could take as long as it had on arrival, and with the bag drop desk only opening two hours before departure, we could easily imagine missing a flight. This was not the case though, and the border control on this occasion was fast.

Each departure gate has its own security, so you can’t really buy a drink from one of the shops, and take it through unless it’s from Duty Free where they’ll bag it up and seal it. There is however a vending machine, and a water fountain at the gate. We got there so early that there wasn’t even a plane yet.

Once again it was efficient boarding, meaning most people were seated fifteen minutes before we were scheduled to leave the gate - except for one straggler who was five minutes after everyone else.

At 15:45 we were mere moments from touching down at London Heathrow, earlier than scheduled. With no warning we were forced back in our seats as the aircraft suddenly accelerated into a steep ascent to abort the landing. I could see from the window we were far to the right of it, but that was not the reason - an aircraft was still on the runway.

We were then told the landing had been aborted, which we’d already figured out, and would be updated shortly. They eventually told us that the landing had been aborted due to the runway not being clear, and were now coming around for another go. It delayed us landing by fifteen minutes, and now landed as scheduled to a round of applause.

As always, it was a long trek across the airport to get from the arrival gate to the immigration hall. As is often the case, we walked straight up to an available e-gate and straight through into the baggage hall - the carousel being the farthest one away from us. By the time we got there though, ours were amongst the first off.

We headed straight to the car park from there, and carried our suitcase up a flight of stairs instead of waiting for a busy lift, whilst I ordered the Uber for £34.95. It was nice to see it at a more reasonable price for once. Our trip was over, and we’d soon have marathons to run, and solo trips elsewhere. Carmen would be going to Valencia for a dance competition, and I’d be off to India to see the incredible buildings, and hopefully see a Great Indian Tiger in the wild…