Summer Travel! Oh The Adventures!

When things go awry, sometimes happy accidents ensue.

@amomentwithshell

When things go awry, sometimes happy accidents ensue. After a few days of attending a workplace reunion filled with laughter and cheer, I excitedly went to the airport to return home. All went well as I checked in, duty free shopped and finally went to get a snack before my international flight home.

On a whim I caught sight of an alert that said something about flight being cancelled! Did I see right, I asked my self. Quickly I checked the flight app and sure enough the flight was cancelled. But why? In the midst of shock, horror, inconvenience and more, many questions rolled into my head. I headed to the departure area to seek answers. That was of no repute since airline crew were filled with screaming passengers mad about missing work appointments and more. Unfortunately … the flight’s ground attendants had no answers. I kept silent … it was unnecessary for me to say anything that wasn’t already said. Thinking of my next day coaching appointments and more, I scurried to get a snack as I expected a long afternoon ahead.

Later, the crowd of more than one hundred plus passengers straddled behind ground crew to retrace our steps, grab checked luggage to get back to the airline’s main customer service area. There were no other flights available that evening. A few passengers headed back to friends and relatives while the majority climbed into buses ordered for commute to a fine 5-star hotel approximately 20 minutes from the airport.

What ensued was checking into the hotel all expenses paid including meals and accommodation at an exquisite tourist spot. I watched the changes unfold in the ‘distressed’ passengers’ behavior go from screams on hearing the news to exhibiting silent tales of gratitude with a few even saying how thankful they were for the extra ‘vacation day’.

Next day passengers made the trek back to the airport, bags in tow, for the journey to their various places of destination a la carte.

In summary, as I have often maintained, man plans but God directs his steps. Who knows what our plight might have been if our original plans stayed fixed on a flight with ‘per se’ mechanical problems.

What about you? Have you ever suffered a setback from an international flight delay or something else? Do share, we would love to hear.

Cheers!