I went to India about 10 days ago. My return flight was on 31/5/13. That journey would lead me to Mumbai airport where I would catch a connecting flight to London.
Guess what?
I missed it!
I’ve never missed a flight before and I’m truly surprised about how smooth and calm it turned out.
I went to the Jet Airways desk and was told that the travel agent hadn’t supplied them with a local contact number for me so they couldn’t let me know that the flight had been rescheduled. He didn’t ask me for one either!
However, what if I didn’t take a phone with me, if I wasn’t staying with family, if I wasn’t going to be in a hotel or didn’t know where I’d be sleeping? How would they let me know of any changes?
I asked them what happens next and was advised that there were no more flights until tomorrow. This is when I was due to arrive in London. I asked if there was another way and they said I’d have to buy another ticket with a different company.
I did that as it was easier, simpler and would have less of an impact on others.
I asked if I’d make it in time for the connection and was told that I’d have masses of time.
We landed and it seemed that everything would be relatively straightforward.
I got on the bus thinking it’d take me to where International flights leave from. However, this was not the case.
I got off the bus and followed the signs for international transfers. The queue went from one side of the airport, curved around and reached the other end! I asked a member of staff from Jet Airways if I’d make it for the connecting flight and he told me I had to join the queue. I wasn’t expecting anything different. I just wanted an indication of how long it’d take. I asked again and he said it should be fine but if not, I should take a cab. Not a very full answer. So I asked how would I know when I should get a cab and he said at midnight. At this point it was just before 11 p.m.
So I joined the queue.
I got to what looked like an information desk so I asked the staff there about whether I’d make the connecting flight.
I approached them because there was a screen saying that the available bus was at 11:00 p.m. and the next bus was at 11:30 p.m.
Lots of people were panicking because it was now 11:15 p.m. so we figured that the ‘available’ bus was no longer there and the queue was so long, we doubted that we’d be able to board the bus at 11:30 p.m. Therefore, would we make it our flights?
The man who replied said ‘do you really think we’d only have a bus every half an hour with a queue like this?’ I replied, ‘But that’s what the screen says so we believed it.’ He said they’ve put that there because people make noise about this service which is complimentary but they think they’ve paid for it! I didn’t actually know how to respond to that! How on earth does that relate to the screen saying there’s a bus every half an hour? It doesn’t say anything about not relying on it because it’s complimentary as opposed to a entitlement/paid for service etc.
The queue moved so I went with it. He said he’d find me and explain further but he didn’t.
I boarded the bus and thought everything would be OK after that but I was wrong. It took about 15 minutes for staff to allow passengers to go through and board the bus. Thus we sat and waited for what felt like ages. The traffic was heavy and it took ages before we arrived and could park safely to get off the bus.
So there can’t be much more right?
No. There were a lot of people waiting to check in so many passengers were feeling insecure again. However, they announced for those traveling on the next flight to Heathrow to show themselves and we were allowed to move forward in the line.
After I checked in I was told that I had to go through immigration. Here, the passengers didn’t have enough space to queue because there were so many people. Someone called his friend and said that he hadn’t seen a queue like this here for over 7 years.
While I was queuing there was an announcement that boarding had began so a few of us moved to the front of the line and got through.
The next stop was security. Being a woman works in your favour as there’s a separate line for us and there were far fewer women traveling so that saved some time.
I got to the gate, boarded and everything worked out from there.
Now I’ve taken you through the experience, let me tell you what the best part about it was! 🙂 It was the way I felt. I was calm, focused, content and peaceful. This is not the way that I would have reacted before. Previously, I would have been angry, stressed, worried, grumpy and more. It’s all thanks to Bhaishree and the impact of His guidance.
I’m so thankful to Him.
So I guess the key message is, whatever’s going on, whether it’s in your control or not, whether you think you can cope or not; there IS a way to make things smoother. What works for me is following what Bhaishree has taught me.
Some posts about Bhaishree:-
How progressing on the spiritual path changed my life.
