We were taxing to the Budapest airport, when I saw something intriguing. It looked, from a distance, like a bunch of folks with their construction jackets on sitting on the ground. As we pulled closer, something more interesting and heart warming emerged.

Those are a bunch of school kids. From the sign on the bus “Air Tours”, I assume they have been brought by the school to watch planes land and take off. You can see a few teachers also around (they are the ones standing).

The excitement the kids had as the big jumbo rolled past them was palpable. They involuntarily started waving at us. Not sure they could see me thru the window, but I got caught up in the moment and kept waving back at them too!

Flying has become so run of the mill today that I often forget the romanticism that was attached to it when I was a kid. (I got to fly for the first time when I was 27 years old). Watching a plane go above us would bring all our sports activities in our neighborhood to a stand still. Especially if they left the contrails behind.

Interestingly enough, as a kid, I had a very wrong impression of how planes land (or take off). I used to think they go in circles as they lower in height! Ah! juvenile ignorance!!

By the way, I do not think this scene will ever happen in the USA today. These kids can literally walk onto the runway as you can see. Of course, there is a cop car there to ensure such a thing does not happen. But I just do not see such a thing happening in the USA without having a fence between the kids and the runway for safety.