I make around 20 trips a year to Ireland to see the family. By and large my experience with EasyJet is fine but there are times when the experience is more charmless than usual. Late night flights are especially prone to delay and it's difficult not to drift into a maudlin mindset as one surveys one's fellow passengers at this ugly time and place.  

Last flight out of Luton

 

The destination monitor blinks

The dawn flights are on the board

It’s the last flight out of Luton,

Hygiene operatives sweep the floor.

The screen instructs “Relax and Shop”

But the tills at Tie Rack chime no more.

It’s the last flight out of Luton

And cheap flight carriers serve the poor.

 

The cabin crew drift through arrivals

The shutters descend at duty free

Fellow travellers cradle their energy drinks

Staring entranced at static departure screens

The men wear track suits as their travel garb

Or the shiny shirts of their football teams,

It’s the last flight out of Luton

Where cheap flight carriers serve our dreams