Ahh holiday time. The moment when you can relax and not worry about anything. At least that’s how it should be. You wake up super early for the early flight you are booked onto. Drive to the airport, park the car, head towards the terminal. Breeze through check-in and baggage drop off. Head to security, see through plastic bag in hand full of liquids you aren’t allowed in your luggage.
After being searched you are in the departure lounge. Hooray, almost there. You check the board for your gate, head up the stairs to grab a coffee and croissant before heading to the gate. As you slowly drink your coffee, waiting for your gate to be announced you sit and think about the pool/beach you will be by in a few hours.
That is until you look up at the screen and see those dreaded words. Gate closed!! Quick, run just in case the screen is wrong. Arrive at the gate to be told – sorry there’s nothing we can do, you will be escorted back through arrivals and taken to the help desk.
You can’t even blame anyone as it’s your own fault. If only you had checked the time/screen more. Or not bought that coffee and croissant. Or just headed straight to the gate. As the anger subsides you just start to feel really stupid and embarrassed. Cue handing over £250 to rebook all of you on the next flight and having to wait in the airport terminal for the next 10 hours.
I wrote this post a few years ago now after we missed a flight to France. Instead of spending the day in the sunshine, we sat in the terminal at Gatwick.
Although we got our luggage back from the plane, we were a car seat down. This meant we couldn’t leave the airport. So we sat in the same cafe for almost 10 hours. I’ve definitely learnt my lesson now and whenever we have to fly I skip the pre-flight coffee and croissant!