Will we ever see Cobalt again?

After lunch in Larnaca my son decided that our day was not finished and that he wanted to make one last stop before we went home.

Daaaaad, can we please go to the airport? I want to see the Emirates, Aegean, Cobalt airplanes.

We drove to the Cyprus Airways hangar to have a look at the six stranded Cobalt planes which were waiting to be returned to their rightful owners.

“Look, it’s Cobalt!” my son yelled at the top of his lungs.

“Errm son, there is something important I need to tell you about Cobalt…”

How was I going to tell my little boy, who would get a thrill every time he saw a Cobalt airplane, that he may never see his favourite airplane again?

Looking over to my wife I ask: “How do we say mismanagement or bankruptcy in Greek?”  Silly me, how did I forget? We hear these two words in Cyprus all the time…

“Never mind honey, I’ll just say: Has no money and is not allowed to fly”

After a simple explanation as to what happened to Cyprus’ biggest airline, my 5-year old was disappointed.  He understood that he would no longer see his favourite blue-tailed airplanes grace the glorious Cyprus sky.

Sadly, he didn’t even get a chance to fly with Cobalt.  We were among the unlucky holidaymakers who had booked during Cobalt’s “End of Summer 15,000 seat sale”.  I didn’t have the heart to tell him that we had a surprise Christmas holiday planned which was cancelled due to the airline’s inability to follow through.  Speaking of which, I am still waiting to receive a refund for our tickets.

Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be…

As I took a few last photos of a sad looking fleet I tell my little boy:

“Son, we are leaving now.  Take one last look at your favourite airplanes, because it could be the last time you see Cobalt again, unless a miracle happens.”

George Yena, via email