Originally Posted by DernierVirage

I actually spoke too soon!! I have just got into the arrivals lounge, KA905 arrived in HKG exactly one hour late. Not a big deal, but it was quite interesting stuff....

Boarding was on schedule, doors closed at 8.10 a.m, not bad at all for an 8.00 a.m departure, so I was already feeling pretty good. But not so fast....10 minutes later the captain tells us that we don't have a departure time, since the military air exercises that were planned to start at 9 a.m (and which he had been expecting to avoid) have already started early and that we have no idea when the airspace will be clear. He also mentioned that ATC had informed him that the PLA was not even replying to their requests for information and so they, like everyone else, would have to wait ! I settled down for a long wait, but surprisingly we got away less than an hour later, wheels were up at 9.20.

Further proof, not that we need any, that you can't breathe a sigh of relief until you feel the wheels leave the runway.