It was the last day of our Christmas vacation. A ten day loungefest at my parent's farm that included healthy doses of fresh air, snowshoeing, eating and drinking. Having finished stuffing all our ill-gotten gains into our suitcases, AL and I jumped into my sister's car to be driven to the Edmonton airport. We were flying Edmonton to Calgary, then switching planes and flying the rest of the way back home to Ottawa.
Did I mention this was on December 27?
Remember that whole Christmas Day terrorism thing? Yeah, that. Well, two days later there were a number of security delays affecting a lot of people's travel itinerary. On top of that, quite literally, was a blanket of fog over the city of Edmonton.
The drive from my parent's house to the Edmonton airport is two hours, so, when it's time to go, it's time to go. So even though there was this very thick fog surrounding the airport, I was utterly convinced this would not affect our plans. Famous last words. When we checked in we were told our flight to Calgary had been delayed, but not to worry, the flight out of Calgary had also been delayed. Quick check on the board: yup, flight delayed by one hour. No biggie. This gave us time to stop in at the airport Montana's for some nachos and beer - good times. Emerging from the Montana's just in time for what we think will be the pre-boarding announcement...we check the board again. This time? Flight is delayed three hours. Well, there's no way we're making a Calgary connection now. Better check in with an agent and find out what our options are...
As we approach the gate, we start to notice things are a little, um, frantic. People are cueing up at their gates, not to board their planes, but to pepper the agents with questions. For one thing, the boards throughout the airport tell one story, the signs at the gate quite another. You see, the electronic signage at the gate is on auto-pilot. It cycles through the announcements based on what time it is. Meaning that passengers were seeing boarding announcements and even take off announcements for planes that never even made it to the gate. This was only the beginning of that day's frustrations.
We managed to find a very helpful agent at the gate who at that point presented us with two options: a) we take the delayed flight to Calgary and then a red eye out of Calgary to arrive in Ottawa first thing the next morning. Or b) we give up the ghost, right here and now, collect our luggage, and try again tomorrow morning. This was the proverbial crossroads. In retrospect, everything is so clear. I had a bad feeling about what was happening (or more importantly, not happening) in the Edmonton airport, and getting out of there was a very sane option. On the other hand, AL was scheduled for his first day of Danish Play rehearsals. And obviously, an actor can't exactly 'call in sick' - you're either there or you're not - and AL wasn't about to 'skip' the first read of his new show. (And rightly so!) So, standing in the middle of the airport we made what would turn out to be our fatal mistake - we decided come hell or high water, we were getting back to Ottawa in time for AL to make rehearsal.
Granted, even if this had worked, it was a crazy plan. The option they had presented us with was to take a red eye flight out of Calgary, which meant that AL would basically have to go to rehearsal straight from the airport in who knows what kind of shape. But we would make it work. So we waited.
And waited.
I decided that the only way to survive a long layover was to give in to the temptations of the airport. Namely, trashy women's magazines and candy. Luckily, my grandma had given us a tin full of homemade goodies, so, I managed to find a comfy spot, dug into my goodies, and caught up on the latest 20-something fashions and celebrity gossip. When I emerged from my cocoon, the scene around me had got worse instead of better. The crowds were getting larger. And angrier. No flights were taking off - and more distressing than that - passengers were not being given any explanations. One man near me was actually yelling out his frustrations at anyone who would listen; how the airline was a bunch of jerks and poo-poo heads and they would pay for this (he may have been using stronger language).
But we were going to be spared. The boarding announcement for our flight to Calgary may as well have been a chorus of hallelujahs. We were going to escape the Edmonton airport. Or so we thought. We were loaded on to a plane, where we sat and waited. They re-routed a bunch of passengers from this flight to another, so there was all sorts of confusion about who was supposed to be on this flight and who wasn't. There were a few roll calls by frazzled looking flight attendants, and then, we waited. We were on this plane for about an hour before they told us it was cancelled. Nothing is taking off, they said. Please pick up your luggage downstairs and consult a ticket agent to make alternate arrangements.
This is where the chaos began.
AL, sensing what was about to go down, suggested we split up. He would go and collect our bags, and I would head straight to the ticket line-up. Reluctantly, I agreed. It had already been a long day at that point, especially when you add the two hour car ride from my parent's house that morning. And I didn't feel particularly able to make good decisions. But I knew his suggestion made sense, so we parted ways. This ended up being very wise. By the time I followed the stream of people heading to the customer service desk, there was already a sizeable line-up. This line up continued to grow for the next hour or so, until it snaked two or three times through the airport.
It was standing in this line up where I experienced what I consider to be the ugliest side of humanity. A lot of people, like us, had been experiencing delays and long line ups all day. They were tired and frustrated. And no one knew what was going to happen to their travel plans. I guess the one thing AL and I had working for us is the fact we were headed home. Those who were just beginning their holidays were the most irate. If you plan a 4 or 5 day vacation somewhere, only to lose one entire day in a lousy airport, that is a significant chunk of your vacation gone. And in many cases, the cost of one day's vacation evaporates as well.
What I noticed is what happens when you put a bunch of tired, frustrated, confused people in one confined area. They speculate. They become paranoid. They pass around horror stories and half-truths and add the confusion and frustration until the crowd becomes one seething mass of anger and resentment. I was in that line up for two hours. And during that time, all sorts of things happened. People were on their cell phones trying to book alternate flights through airline 1-800 numbers because the rumour was there weren't going to be enough flights the next day to get everyone out of the city. People were talking about how much their time was worth, preparing themselves for when they got up to the agent, preparing to ask for the compensation they are clearly due - including compensation for the time spent standing in line. There was a rumour going around that all of our luggage had been lost, or that it had been sent somewhere else. I understand there was a quite a scene in the luggage area where AL was; people running from carousel to carousel, worrying they would never see their bags again. AL had pretty much the same strategy I did - to keep my head down, reach way down deep and find every ounce of patience possible, and survive this ordeal without absorbing any of this incredibly negative energy.
I looked around in the line-up. There were people with babies and little kids, people travelling with their elderly parents in wheelchairs. Here was what disgusted me: the people in the line up who decided their life was way more important than everyone else's. The ones who demanded to know each airline employee's name and employee number. The people who prompted a call to the RCMP because they were yelling and threatening airline employees. As frustrated and as tired as I felt, I could not comprehend this level of selfishness. I mean, really? There are literally at least a hundred people standing behind you in line, and you are going to stand there and take up the time of not one, not two, but three customer service agents and an RCMP while you engage them in some inane argument over what hotel you will be staying at tonight, and exactly how much you expect the airline to pay you for your time, and exactly the kind of transportation you expect to and from the hotel?
I mean, I get that people were upset about having their vacations interrupted. And I too experienced the lack of communication from the airline staff regarding exactly what was happening. I agree the whole thing could have been handled better. But at 10 o'clock at night, after we've all suffered a long day, and there are many many people who have to get their itinerary sorted out for the next day - that is not the time for puffing your chest and grandstanding. The rational, humane thing to do in that situation is to make your arrangements as quickly as possible and get the hell out of that airport so you can give everyone else a chance. Then, later, make a formal complaint. Make all your ridiculous demands for compensation and villify all the employees. If it's that important to you, you should be willing to go through the proper channels at an appropriate time.
Seriously, there was a total lack of compassion in that airport that night. I also looked around at the employees. They looked just as, if not more, exhausted than the passengers. They too were trying to make the best out of a terrible situation and they too were not functioning at full capacity - everyone was having to work overtime and scramble around to accommodate for these delays. One of the managers was berated so terribly by a passenger, that she started to cry. The man laughed at his power over her, I guess it made him feel big. She disappeared only for a brief moment, and then was back, hauling luggage and answering questions and looking at people through her puffy red eyes.
When we finally got the heck out of there and to a hotel (we struck a deal with the agent - they would pay for a hotel if we paid for the cab) there was nothing left for me to do but cry. I think we had a total of 5 or 6 hours until we had to be back at that airport. Honestly, I've never felt so affected by so much negative energy. I had tried all day to avoid it, to shut it out, but when AL and were finally alone I completely collapsed.
The good news at the end of this story is at least we had our luggage with us. Not only did I have my own pajamas and my toothbrush, but we had a bottle of rum in one of our bags. Straight rum out of a hotel cup has never tasted so good.
Early the next morning we were back at that airport, and back in long line-ups. I recognized many of the people we had seen the night before, although all of us were much quieter in the daylight. Just following along in the line ups, grateful to be moving, to be going anywhere at all.
We finally made it, and so did our bags. And I have never ever been so grateful to be home.
