I have never been on a flight
to or from Malaga, Costa del Sol, which hasn’t been full or nearly so – and I
travel mostly mid-week and avoid peak holiday periods. The departure gate
waiting areas are interesting for the amateur sociologist.
Just after the Easter school
holidays, the hobby was easy enough to indulge. At Gatwick there was a
scattering of families with pre-school infants. Almost all the rest of the 180
or so passengers were what the Americans call “snowbirds” – the grey or white
haired folk who migrate, either temporarily or permanently, from the frozen or
wet northern parts to The Sun.
