Flying is a No Joke Issue ~Ginger~

The airlines do not have much leeway when it comes to antics that passengers express. They haul you off to airport prison if you do the least little thing these days.

My  question is ... what happens to the airlines when they have meltdowns  ???

Well I had a mini-meltdown at an airline terminal. Nothing to compare with declaring a bomb or such nonsense. However, the airport police were called on me ... just imagine that. I'm guessing you might have done the same as I did if you were in my shoes.

 This was the only flight available after the Christmas holidays to return from Phoenix to Seattle. It was midnight on the last day of December. Not the time, nor day anyone really wants to be working or flying. But there we are, my hubby and I. Anxious to get home after 2 weeks of visiting lots of relatives and celebrating the holiday.

So we are checked in and at the gate awaiting the plane to be ready for boarding. Nothing left to do but relax once boarded and catch a nap on the flight home. Well that thought vanished from my brain when I strolled over to the large windows at the gate and looked out at the airplane we would be boarding. 

The real meltdown was happening at the conveyor belt loading the luggage on the plane. Apparently two employees were not having a good time at all and they  were having a hissy-fit with the passengers suitcases. As I watched, suitcase after suitcase was thrown off the conveyor belt onto the tarmac. I'm not talking a gentle toss, no it was a pull the suitcase up over the head and smash it down onto the ground.  Well, after calling hubby to the window to see it I grabbed my video camera from my bag and started recording.

Now I would think this was my right to record what is probably going to include my own luggage being mistreated ... but the desk employees didn't see it that way. Once they figured out what was going on and why more people were gathering at the window around me, they told me I had to stop filming. I said I wouldn't comply with their request since the airline employees were intentionally damaging our personal property.

Well, that's when the police showed up. Two of Phoenix's finest on bicycles. As they walked toward us, my husband gave me a gentle nudge and whispered, "we won't be allowed on this flight or any other possibly unless I stop filming". So I stopped and answered questions to the police.

Many waiting passengers wanted to get our email address or phone number in case they needed to contact us for proof of the airlines abuse of their belongings. We were able to board the plane, and we got all the free drinks and snacks we wanted. Needless to say, I took advantage of the drinks and had a merry flight home.

We did hear talk of why the employees might have been so aggravated about the luggage boarding.  In the holiday rush, a smaller airplane had been substituted for the larger one that had been scheduled. That meant the same amount of passengers needed to be seated, but the weight of the luggage was a factor. The crew was suppose to tally the weight, and that was where that anger mounted.

Have you ever had a public melt-down? 

Caution reigns supreme

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