We overheard a woman complaining to the aircrew that the same thing had happened to her mother, and couldn't help wondering if the bags were being scrutinised beyond the already stringent controls that are now in place.
Eventually we took off and four and half hours later, 11pm local time, we were in Amman, Jordan. My visa, obtained after a short queue, cost me 10 Jordanian Dinars. We were met by a cab driver who transported us to a restaurant where our friends were waiting for us.