FVCC trustee, wife escape from Cairo chaos

Flathead Valley Community College Trustee Tom McElwain and his wife Carol got more from their Middle East tour than they bargained for – a front row seat to Egyptian history in the making.

Safely back in Mesa, Ariz., on Thursday, McElwain sent an e-mail to the Inter Lake about their experience in Egypt just as civil order dissolved in their final days in Cairo Jan. 28-31.

Confined to their hotel for that weekend, the couple heard sirens and gunfire as they waited for their flight out Monday morning. Their situation became more precarious at the airport teeming with desperate people.

In a television news interview after landing in New York, McElwain related how the crowd began to surge at the Cairo airport and flying glass struck a member of their group waiting to get a ticket for a flight out.

“A glass window caved in because of the crowd pushing,” McElwain said.

His wife called the airport scene scary, with the crowd screaming and yelling — not quite the adventure they had in mind when they signed up for a two-week tour of Jordan and Egypt through Overseas Adventure Travel. For most of the trip, all went as planned.

They arrived Jan.13 in Amman, Jordan, for a five-day tour of the country. On Jan. 18, they flew to Egypt where their adventures included tours of Cairo Museum, Aswan Dam, the Valley of the Kings, a camel ride to St. Simeons Monastery, a home-hosted dinner in Abu Simbel and a hot-air balloon ride over Luxor.

Their itinerary took a U-turn when their two groups of 16 people each flew back to Cairo from Luxor around noon on Friday, Jan. 28. McElwain said their travel leader grew concerned when his cell phone didn’t work and went to investigate.

“When our tour leader returned to the bus, he had a security guard who appeared much more professional and carrying an UZI as opposed to the outdated AK-47’s most of the guards carry,” he said.

The McElwains and the others were driven to a hotel with a security tent in front. They entered the lobby through heavy security, expecting to move on Saturday to their original hotel in Giza for the pyramid tour. At breakfast the next day, their leader said the Giza tour was off and they were confined to the hotel because the beltway around Cairo was closed.

Not one to accept defeat, Carol McElwain ventured off and found a taxi driver who agreed to take them to Giza. Their group leader warned them off that idea since all the police had withdrawn and emboldened protesters had even broken into the Cairo Museum.

Life inside the hotel that weekend was a stark contrast to the streets outside.

“Most of the day Saturday was spent hanging around the pool, reading, card playing, e-mailing and visiting,” Tom McElwain said. “Rooms were good and the food was great despite the fact that most of the workers were stranded at the hotel and couldn’t get to their homes.”

He was impressed by Overseas Adventure Travel’s attention to their needs and comfort. The company left a message with their daughter updating their situation and the president of the company called and asked to speak with a tour member to see how they were doing.

On Sunday, two of their members went to the airport to rearrange their travel when Lufthansa Airlines canceled all flights.

“They came back with frightening stories of crowds at the airport,” McElwain said. “They were especially concerned by seeing so many people at the airport with household goods and other belongings.”

Around 4 p.m. they heard F-16s flying low as gunfire and sirens erupted from the streets.

At 6:30 a.m. on Monday, they left the hotel for the airport. Traffic was backed up but the crowd outside was small compared to Sunday.

“Inside, it was pandemonium, very confusing and we really didn’t know where to go,” he said. “We decided to get in a line marked for Group Departures.”

Eventually, a man from Express Service appeared and ushered their group to security where just two employees of Egyptair were searching bags by hand. Other employees stood aimlessly as the line grew longer and longer.

 Finally they were checked into their flight and led toward the boarding gate past people lining the corridors.

“I especially felt sorry for older people [who] were confined to sleeping and sitting on the floor,” he said.

Two friends who were stranded by Lufthansa’s cancellation joined them for their flight. They told the harrowing story of the tour group leader getting them up to the Egyptair window and the surging crowd breaking the glass.

“When the plane was loaded and we took off two to three hours behind schedule, there was probably 25 to 30 empty seats!” McElwain said.

When they arrived at JFK Airport, New York media interviewed the McElwains along with several other members of their group. The couple finished their adventure with an uneventful flight to Arizona.

McElwain said he learned four important lessons from their flight from the chaos of Egypt:

1. When traveling outside the United States, work with an agency with good connections in the area of travel in case of an emergency.

2. Be flexible and ready to change plans rapidly.

3. Give your itinerary to a good friend or relative along with ways to contact others to update them on your situation and status.

4. Travel as light as possible as you may need to carry or run with your luggage.

In his e-mail, McElwain related how local people never anticipated the direction of this insurrection. The Canadian ambassador and their tour guard had assured them that the ousting of the government in Tunisia, a hot local topic, would never happen in Egypt. The tour guard, one of many stationed at every site, was particularly emphatic.

“He felt Mubarak would keep a lid on the situation and the protesters would burn off their energy and things would go back to normal.”

Now retired, McElwain was an executive with Montana Power Company and former owner of Stewart Title Company. Along with serving on the community college board of trustees, he serves as a trustee of Northwest Healthcare and is a member of many community organizations.

He retired as a lieutenant colonel from the Montana Army National Guard after 25 years of service.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.