On March 14 we were finally granted permission from the Egyptian Military Gov’t, to depart Cairo with our aircraft, under the premise that we fly without passengers to Paris for maintenance. The permission was granted that morning & was good only for March 14. By late afternoon we were on our way to Athens, Greece for fuel & a short over-night stay, before proceeding to Paris the next day.
The original plan was to wait in Paris for one night while the maintenance was completed & then take the plane back to Athens & leave it there for an undetermined amount of time, as Anas & myself were to ride the airlines back to Cairo.
However, we continued to receive signs that our operation was teetering on the edge of closure. On the way to the Cairo airport on the 14th we were informed that our airline tickets from Athens to Cairo had been canceled & we were now to leave the plane in Paris & airline back to Cairo from Paris.
When we arrived in Paris on March 15, one of the Cessna reps accidently mentioned to me that he heard we were returning our plane to Cessna in Wichita, KS the following week. This pretty much confirmed my building suspicion from the past 6+ weeks.
Upon arrival in Cairo on the evening of March 15 I received an email from Miriam (boss’ assistant) stating that the boss wanted to meet with me the next day. The next morning the news was delivered & I was asked to return the plane to Cessna in Wichita. The boss & I discussed the details & came to terms over ending our pilot contracts early. I was also given permission to take my son (Joshua) with us on the final flight over the North Atlantic.
Over the next week I worked feverishly with our finance department to close down our operation. There was also much to do personally in that week, to move the whole family out of Cairo much earlier that expected.
Please enjoy the final pics & captions below. Thanks for watching, commenting & praying over my adventure from the past 15 months!
Arriving in Paris on March 15th.
Joshua, riding Egypt Air from Cairo to Paris, March 22nd.
Departure day from Paris to Reykjavik, March 23rd.
Joshua enjoyed lots of snacks & movies in his private cabin, during his 11 hrs aloft, over 2 days.
Our one night in Iceland didn't afford us much time to see the sights, but Joshua did enjoy snow for the first time in over a year, as we climbed this hill overlooking the airport. Atop the hill was a restaurant & museum.
