We’d been in the plane with the seatbelt sign illuminated for about two hours at this point. No toilet breaks,no refreshments.
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Finally,an announcement from an apologetic and frustrated pilot. The technical issue,with a windscreen wiper,had returned. As it was raining,the pilot couldn’t risk a landing without it being operational. We had to go back to the gate to see if it could be fixed.
It seemed to take forever to wind our way back to the gate. Then we sat there for an interminable length of time before it was announced that we had to “deplane” (one of my least favourite words.)
There were no further announcements of what we should do,so we got off and sat in the terminal for another hour or two until they found a new plane. No boarding announcements,no information on the screen. No idea if we would miss our next connection,or if we had to try again in the morning.
The airline’s performance was poor but what really stood out for me was the resigned but good-humoured way the passengers took it.
We’d been crammed into a crowded 737 for more than two hours going nowhere and then dumped at an airport with no information,but not one passenger expressed excessive anger or looked like they might get violent about it.
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There were families among the passengers and a large component of whom I guessed were FIFO workers. Perhaps this kind of delay happened a lot on the “Kunna” run because there was not a peep out of anyone,except the occasional deep sigh.
I couldn’t help but wonder what it might have been like if we were on a flight from New York to,say,Miami and the same thing happened. I’ve been on delayed and cancelled flights in the US,and sometimes it isn’t pretty.
In normal circumstances,at even the slightest inconvenience,there are people who push,shove and yell to get attention. Those who look like they’ll burst a blood vessel if there’s a five-minute delay in boarding. In a country where it’s all about the individual,who complains first wins.
In recent times,reports of onboard violence over trivial things,say,mask-wearing,make me grateful I’m travelling with Australians. Air rage in the US was 49 per cent worse last year than it was before the pandemic.
We can be rough and ready and endearingly inclined to wearing pyjamas on our long-distance flights,but we’re not complainers. Are we the most passive passengers on Earth?
I’m not sure,but one thing we draw on to get through bad situations is humour.
“I’m doing the safety demonstration again,in case you missed it last time,” jokes the flight attendant,just before we do finally take off,several hours late.