Q. What do you do when you have a delay and are stuck at an airport?
A. What a great question!
No one likes a delay, least of all your flight crew, but they are rarely within our control. So, we’re pretty much in the same boat as everyone else.
What I do depends on when the delay occurs.
If we’re already boarded and ready to go, we hang out along with you guys. Generally speaking, in this situation the delay is what we call a “creeping delay.” This means that every ten minutes or so we’re supposed to get an update. It doesn’t always happen that way, and the flight crew is often the last to get an update. And believe me, although the delay is expected to be short, a creeping delay can quickly add up into a whopper of a delay.
If these situations, there’s really not much that you can do. It’s not fun, and we hate it too. Ringing your call button and asking how long it’s going to be, won’t speed the process up any. Complaining about how uncomfortable you are, when you’ve turned down an opportunity to get off, will not garner you any sympathy. If you are given the opportunity to deplane, take it. We would if we could.
If the delay occurs before boarding, Flight Attendants are likely to get off the aircraft. We’ll go searching for food, coffee, a magazine, use rest rooms in the airport, find a place with good reception to make a phone call, or even find a wi-fi spot. It will all depend on the length of the delay.
It always amazes me how after a delay of some duration, the first thing people start talking about is needing to use the lavatory or wanting something to drink. Didn’t you do that while you were in the terminal?
What do you do during a delay? Tell us in the comments.
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