Everyday is an adventure. I have never had an experience where I had to be rushed by ground staff at the airport and be received at the gate with a sign showing my next flight. But that did happen. I flew back from Stockholm to Sydney via Dubai. My flight from Stockholm left an hour later and I had a connecting flight back home that was 2 hours for connection. Well. The late departure certainly threw a spanner in the works and we landed an hour and 15 before my next flight. The worst was that we didn’t even land at the gate. We landed on the airside and we had to hop onto buses to be transported back to the terminal. I was greeted by a lady from Emirates holding a sign for Sydney. I was a bit panicked but seeing that they were already aware that we were gonna be late reassured me. Two other men were there too. But they were going to Adelaide and their flight was leaving imminently. So we walked through the terminal, having to go through security checks again. We obviously cut the line and it was kinda fun in its own twisted I am late for my flight way. I was expecting a buggy to be transferred to my next flight but Dubai airport is massive and you actually have to take a train to the other flights lol. So the lady led us to the gate and she was under a lot of pressure too. Her phone kept ringing and she was telling the flights to wait as we were making our way. She told us that the middle eastern situation was creating all these delays because all the flight paths had to change. And I guess that makes for a really busy air corridor.
Being there kinda contextualised how real the crisis was. It was at their doorstep. But I was heading home to somewhere so far from it that it’s usually just the news and not something real to deal with. I felt really taken care of by the ground staff. Felt like me making the flight mattered. By the time I got to my flight the gate was already closed. lol. And I ran but then the people told me to relax and that it was okay. I’ve never been late for a flight in my life. Ok except that one time I actually missed my flight from Wellington because I underestimated the time for boarding. I actually thought I didn’t have to be at the airport until 1 hour before. I was quite mistaken. That was a happy accident.
On my flight from Stockholm, I sat next to an elderly Australian couple. lol. What are the chances of sitting right next to Aussies. They went on a cruise around Europe and had a few days in Copenhagen and Stockholm, just like me. I thought I was the only one who was acutely aware of the middle eastern situation but she said she was a bit alarmed too. I told her I considered leaving via a different port and buying another ticket but I thought it should be ok in Dubai, even though I was a bit alarmed myself. But I guess it wasn’t unreasonable cause she was worried too. And that she was looking forward to getting out of that zone and back to Melbourne. We take being in Australia for granted. We are so far away in our corner that news can simply be news for us. It is a blessing.
I was rather stressed when I landed 1 hour before my flight but you know what, it was kinda exciting too. If I were to really miss my flight, Emirates would have had to put me up in a hotel room and rebook my flight out. It wouldn’t be so bad I suppose. But I’m also glad I made it on my flight. I was exhausted. I thought about how in the moment I was pretty stressed but I could also enjoy how unique this situation was for me. All experiences are unique