Elderly in first flight

Old people from rural areas in Loulé travelled by air for the first time recently, when they undertook a Faro-Lisbon flight that also included a sightseeing tour of the capital. Few of the ‘virgin’ fliers would admit to nervousness about the experience. “At this age, a person fears nothing,” said 77-year-old Filipe Ramos, while 74-year-old Maria da Conceição said she had not even been aware of the plane’s descent. “The journey was so calm that I never even noticed we were coming in to land,” she said. The 100 lucky passengers, all aged between 65 and 83, were split in two groups: one group flew to Lisbon and then returned by bus, and the other did the same trip but in reverse. In the light of the success of the ‘baptism of fire’ exercise, Loulé Councillor Manuel Viegas has promised to organise similar events in the future.