The Rome-Olbia flight leaves two hours late because on board, when the plane is on the runway ready for take-off, the passenger bill does not add up. It should be 170, but it's 172.

Ordinary (by now) the slippage with respect to the timetable, a little less the reason that blocked the Volotea aircraft for a long time at Fiumicino with destination Costa Smeralda airport, expected in Gallura for 19.55.

The mayor of Fonni, Daniela Falconi was also on that flight. She says that the hostess, after waiting for a while, at one point took the intercom to say something like: «Ladies and gentlemen, good evening, We apologize for the delay but we have 170 people on the list and since we have counted you there it's a problem: 172 of you got on the plane». Or so the mayor ironically translates it. How this was possible has not been clarified.

The following moments were also surreal: the passengers were counted one by one. And the result hasn't changed: 172.

Time kept ticking. New communication: «They told us that they would have to recount, perhaps there had been an error at the gate». The addends have not changed, nor has their order. So neither does the final bill: still 172.

There was some tension on board. Until the news arrived: we leave, without further explanations. The captain announced that the leg would be covered in just 30 minutes, to buy time. The plane landed at 21.25. Who the two extras were, if any, among the passengers nobody understood.

Henry Fresu