Novel : Arthur Hailey : Airport

Characters:

Mel Bakersfeld (Manager Lincoln International airport)
Cindy (Mel's wife)
Keith Bakersfeld (Mel's Brother who works at the Radar Control)
Tanya Livingston( Trans World Airlines passenger relations manager)
Joe Patroni (Trans World Airlines head of maintenance operations at TWA )
Vernon Demerest (Womanizing Pilot at TWA and brother-in-law of Mel)
Sarah (Vernon Demerest's wife)
Gwen Meighan (TWA Airline stewardess)
D.O. Guerrero (Construction Company head who has lost everything)
Iraz Guerrero
Ada Quonsett (Lady who always stowaways from Los Angeles to New York on TWA flight to meet her daughter).
Danny (Managing the Snow Control Desk)
Harris (pilot of Flight Two, "The Golden Argosy")

Plot
The plot revolves around the fateful night at the Lincoln International Airport.
Mel, General Manager of Lincoln International airport, Chicago, is a very busy man today. There has been an unprecedented snow fall at the airport. This had lead to a Chaos. Many flights have been delayed leading to hours of delay for the passengers who are getting jittery. The runways are getting blocked with snow which needs to be cleared. One Flight skid away from the runway 30 and is stuck in the mud and snow. Clearing of runway 30 is on priority. Because the runway 30 is blocked, runway 25 is being used more frequently. This has lead to huge noise in the Meneawood neighborhood who are not able to have a peaceful sleep. So on top of the existing issues at the Airport, an agitating Meneawood community lands at the Airport. Danny is handling the Snow department today. But Mel needs to be present at the Snow desk to help danny.
Mel has one more problem at hand. He needs to attend a dinner party with his wife for some charity function. Mel is going through a rough patch in his marriage. Cindy had specifically instructed Mel to be present at the dinner party. but looking at the state of affairs at the Airport, it would be impossible for Mel to move an inch from the airport. Mel realizes that if he skips the dinner, it will leads to serious consequences at his personal front. But he is helpless. On top of this, his elder daughter does not act like his daughter. He is worried that their relation is going nowhere. His only solace is his 8 year old daughter who still loves him.

Tanya is busy handing the passengers and solving the problems of the Ticketing staff of TWA. Tanya and Mel are good friends. Infact they are more than good friend. Tanya has divorced once. She has a soft corner for Mel. Mel likes Tanya as well. Though they have never slept together, Tanya feels that the Rumor mill at the Airport would have definitely liked them together and the juicy stories would be floating around.

Keith Bakersfeld works in the radar control section of Lincoln International airport. Keith had been on duty on the fateful day when a small jet collided mid-air with another training flight. Though he was not sitting in the radar room, he had left a young guy at the radar control who messed things up. Keith feels responsible for the accident and is in a state of depression. He is on duty today at the radar control. He has something on his mind today for which he has been preparing for months.

Joe Patroni is the hard, hands-on guy. He handles the maintenance operation at TWA. he has risen from the dust to become the most responsible guy for operations at TWA. He was a mechanic who had a fascination for planes. He had gone back home only to be called back to fix the problem on Runway 30. The plane stuck on runway 30 needs to be cleared. Joe is stuck in the traffic where a huge tanker has slipped onto the road, blocking all traffic. Any delay on Joe's in Joe's arrival will cause lot of problems at the Airport.

Vernon Demerest, is the pilot of TWA. Today he is the co-pilot of Trans America Flight Two, "The Golden Argosy", which is a Boeing 707 and Rome-bound. Vernon has written a scathing report against the Airport Maintenance and has circulated it among the various airline officials. This will hit Mel to some extent. Vernon, though is brother-in-law of mel, does not like mel one bit. Vernon and Mel have had tiffs in the past over various issues like insurance policies doled out at Airports. Vernon is married to Mel's elder siser Sarah. Vernon is a womanizer and has had a series of affairs with stewardess. Right now he has a relationship with Gwen. Vernon and Gwen are on the same flight to Rome today. They will have a 3-day handover in Rome. They plan to have a wonderful time in Rome.

Gwen is an intelligent stewardess, which is one of the qualities that attracted Vernon to her. She has maintained her charm and has been successful in keeping Vernon's attention on her. Today she has an announcement to make to Vernon which is going to shock him. Vernon is busy making plans for the holiday in Rome.

Ada Quonsett is a frequent stowaway. She has a daughter in New York. Very often she gets an urge to meet her daughter and she sets off to New York. Her problem is that she does not have money, so she has devised various mechanisms to skip through the airport staff onto New York bound flights. She prefers TWA flights as she has been successful in snooping in on many occasions. She has been caught on a flight and is being questioned by Tanya.

Guerrero, is a failed businessman. He is broke and is not able to manage his family. All his construction projects have either been scrapped or failed. He is not sure of his future course of action. His wife has taken up a job at a departmental store. But it is not helping much. She is a caring wife but is not able to handle the eccentricity of her husband. Gurrero has bought a flight ticket to Rome on Flight Two, "The Golden Argosy". He has written a letter to her wife that she should expect something exciting from him. His wife is worried and rushes to the airport to meet her husband.

Harris is going to fly Flight Two, "The Golden Argosy" today. He is uncomfortable with the fact that Vernon is his co-pilot. He understands that

The plot revolves around the above characters, their actions during the fateful day.

My Impression
=============

I was impressed with the story telling of Arthur Hailey. This was my first Arthur Hailey. Needless to say that I will be reading many more of his books.
This novel was written way back in the 70s. So the airport setup does not match today's airports. So characters like Ada Quonsett and Guerrero cant be related in today's Airports.

I would go with 7 out of 10 and a thumbs up for the novel.