My experience with delayed flights

Calling all passengers on flight AA 734 5pm to Abuja this flight is delayed for one hour we are sorry for any inconvenience. It’s 4pm and I am not in the mood to hear this right now, I’m going for a production meeting and people are expecting me, tickets, hotel everything has been paid for.

Wait, let’s go back two hours… I arrive at the airport well in time for check-in because I don’t like to rush, the line is already long with passengers waiting patiently to check in, there are three lines now with no particular order. People are getting on and off the line and I’m wondering why.

Finally after an hour of standing a fellow passenger informs us that the system is down and we have to go to the ticket booth to print out our itineraries because they cannot retrieve the information from online tickets at the check in counter. What the heck?

Boarding pass in hand now, I'm trying to get through from check-in to the departure gate. From nowhere, I hear some voices call out to me, "Chairman your boy is loyal"

"Mr. Nollywood do weekend for us"

"Americana happy weekend"

"Bossman drop something na"

Well... I think it's better we leave this topic for another day.

10 minutes in the departure lounge, “Calling all passengers on Flight 234 2PM to Uyo. Due to operational reasons this flight has been delayed.”

Two minutes later “Calling all passengers on flight 587 2PM to Port Harcourt due to operational reasons this flight has been delayed”

Followed by “Calling all passengers on flight 509 3PM to Benin due to operational reasons this flight is cancelled.”

20 minutes later, “This is to inform passengers on flight 234 to Uyo due to operational reasons this flight has been cancelled please proceed to the check in counter for further information.”

“This is to inform passengers on flight 587 to Port Harcourt, due to operational reasons this flight has been cancelled please proceed to the check in counter for further information.”

By now passengers are ready to go postal on the airline staff, what the F is going on here what about our flight? No announcement has been made, hope it’s not cancelled because it’s way past 7pm and still no announcement.

The lounge is half empty, as the cancelled flight passengers have gone to battle at the ticket counter.

Then we hear the announcement we have been waiting for, Passengers traveling to Abuja please proceed to gate three for boarding, one passenger, five passengers then a mad race to the gate, why is everybody rushing?

The gate is over crowded with impatient passengers then the boarding gate agent starts yelling 2 o’clock passengers to Abuja only, 2PM Abuja only? what the heck???

How are we supposed to know if they don’t announce it’s the 2pm flight and why is the 2PM flight still here now at 7:30PM?

Finally at 8PM our flight is called, going to board the plane... “Boss please come this way, take this car to the plane no need to take the bus. Anything you have you can do weekend for us."

All this because they don’t have fuel to fly the planes. Again, what the heck???

I am Peter Armand Boyo, an Actor Director & filmmaker, Host of the upcoming show StreetFoods, directed the TV soap Tarima and acted in many films in Nollywood, Ghallywood and Hollywood, I also mentor and train upcoming actors and crew. You can interact with me on facebook, twitter and instagram @peterarmandboyo