Thursday, 13 April 2017

Airline Discourtesy

Like me, you have probably seen and been horrified by the video of a passenger being dragged off a plane in Chicago recently. We all know air travel can be difficult, but this does seem to be a new low for the friendly skies.

I'm no longer a particularly frequent flyer, but I have seen a passenger being removed in handcuffs from an airplane after he uttered a mild expletive to a flight attendant. It happened in Tampa, Florida after a very rough flight, and the passenger had risen to try to retrieve his phone before we had reached the gate. I thought calling the cops was excessive force, but nothing like the Chicago incident.

I myself was yelled at by a flight attendant at JFK following a long journey from Buenos Aires. It was very early morning and the airport was not yet open, so we were parked on the tarmac. I had a very tight connection and rose to try to reach my carry-on, which horrified the attendant. She said if anyone had seen me the airline could have been in serious trouble. This was shortly after 9/11, so I understood her jitters and learned my lesson.

Now I am very circumspect on planes, as well as in airports and at border crossings, especially in the U.S. Once you enter an airport you are in a zone where ordinary rules do not apply, and officials seem to have carte blanche to deal with travellers as they wish. I understand that most airline personnel are highly professional and often underpaid, but  that is not an excuse. It doesn't take much to turn a passenger's ordinary trip into a nightmare.

Caveat traveller.

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