[NickN]

We were due to fly back from Coolangatta to Sydney on Thursday night with JQ (Flight #427 from memory). A huge storm came in at around 7pm which resulted in all flights being diverted to Brisbane. That was fine however it meant a delay and due to the late departure time as it was we risked missing Sydney curfew. As a result of the storm the airport was closed, and when it did re-open it was discovered a lightning strike had resulted in the runway lights malfunctioning and not being able to be switched on and the airport was closed again.

Due to the delay Jetstar eventually cancelled the flight. They arranged a bus to transport us to the Calypso Resort at Kirra for the night in a 2 storey loft apartment and the next morning arranged a bus from the resort to Brisbane and put us on a QF flight 521 to Sydney at 1115. All this was done at no expense to us and as we were traveling with 4 young children (8mths, 2, 4 and 6) they really took extra care to look after us.

The staff on the QF flight also made the flight very entertaining for the kids who all received a Mr. Funny drawing kit on the plane which was great.

The funniest thing happened while we were waiting for the runway lights to be fixed prior to our flight being cancelled at Coolangatta. To break the mood the girl announced over the microphone:

"If anybody would like to come to the check-in counter and collected a set of candles and stand on the runway to assist landing aircraft we would be most appreciative"

The whole terminal got a kick out of that.