16/10
Lessons Learned From Two Days in an Airport
One thing that didn’t get addressed in the recent blockbuster Up in the Air with George Clooney:
What happens when everything shuts down and you can’t go anywhere?
That’s what happened when I got stuck in the mashup of the storms in the New York area this past weekend. I flew to Newark from Frankfurt and landed in what I later found out were winds up to 70 mph, which explained the preponderance of air sickness bags during descent.
Once through customs, I spent the next 42 hours trying to get home from two different airports. Here’s my take on how to make the best of a bad situation:
1. Be cheerful. Being the opposite just ratchets up your blood pressure and doesn’t get you anywhere faster.
2, Talk to the person next to you, whether it’s on a line that stretches as far as the eye can see or sitting next to you. I met a woman who represents a line of boutique hotels in Europe on the line to get reticketed in Newark, and then gabbed with a family from Durango, Colorado in LaGuardia. As a result, I heard some fascinating stories and it helped pass the time.
3. Assume you’re not going to get where you want to go when they say you will. Counting down the minutes to a series of cancelled flights is an exercise in frustration.
4. Put out feelers on Facebook, to Twitter, to your email list, to see if anyone knows anyone you can crash with, or at least have a decent meal with while you’re stuck.
5. Check out TripQuips for certain tips. Wi-fi was nonexistent on Sunday afternoon, but following my post on camping outside airline lounges, I discovered the wifi tip worked!
6. Forget about your bags. As you know, I hate checking bags, but this was an 11-day trip to Norway in winter. So I checked a bag, which I last saw in Newark on Saturday night before picking it up in Charleston on Monday afternoon. There are worst things than wearing the same clothes three days running. If anything, it’ll serve as a reminder to pack less, much less.
7. Be flexible. Ask them to try different airports on both ends, not necessarily the ones on your original ticket.
8. Finally, relax. I got home, and that’s all that matters.
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