Writer: Helena Bergström
Do you like flying? Or do you mainly think that it is a necessary evil to travel long distances? Either way, you want the flight to go smoothly and without unexpected disruptions. We will tell you about a number of flights where things went slightly differently than planned…
1. Greece: Emergency landing due to a sick passenger
We would fly directly from Athens to Stockholm, a fairly smooth journey we thought. But we didn’t get further than airborne before a fellow passenger became seriously ill. The flight attendants called over the loudspeakers for a doctor and several medical experts rushed over. However, it turned out that, in the interests of the sick person, we had to land as quickly as possible and an emergency landing followed in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.
It took a while before the plane was cleared to take off again – then with final destination Copenhagen. As a ‘band-aid’, the staff offered free food, with the only dilemma being that there was hardly any food for sale. Peter and I got to share a hamburger.
In Copenhagen the cabin crew left their shift and we passengers had to wait for new staff. Much later than expected we finally landed in Stockholm – not only tired, but especially hungry.
2. Tunisian: Peter was allowed to fly in the cockpit
How often are passengers allowed in the cockpit these days? Not often! But it can potentially happen if you fly with someone who has worked with those flying the plane. Anyway, this happened to us a few years ago on a domestic flight in Tunisia.
Our guide joked with me and said “the pilots need help”. Then he led Peter to the cockpit, and when he came back he said, “Peter is going to land the plane.” Fortunately, it didn’t quite happen that way, but Peter could see the entire landing from the cockpit. Delicious!
3. Sweden: Almost down – then the flight had to turn back up
In my previous job it happened that I flew domestically during the day, and this time I went to Gotland for work. The plane was a noisy propeller plane and when we went to land in Stockholm I prepared myself for the wheels to hit the hill quickly. Instead, the plane turned sharply upward at high speed.
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When we were back at high altitude, the pilot announced that “there was a plane on the runway”. Phew… The pilot made a go-around and then we actually landed.
4. Italy: On the off chance that we missed the flight
We were traveling in Italy and were going to fly home from Bologna. We were not late at the airport, on the contrary, we were well on time, but there were extreme queues at the airport. When we finally got through security, we had to run to the gate.
Because we were so stressed, we forgot to check the gate number again and when we finally arrived, out of breath, we found that the gate had changed. Now we had to run to the other side of the airport. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much lactic acid in my legs, and when we got there they were about to close. But we did it…
5. Croatia: The suitcase was almost stolen
We had landed in Split and were waiting for our suitcases at the baggage carousel. Then Peter saw it: a woman took one of our suitcases from the belt and hurried to the arrivals hall. Who cares…?
We both thought it was all a mistake, but to avoid losing the bag, Peter rushed after it while I waited at the belt for the next bag. Once outside it turned out that the woman was almost there jumped away. When Peter caught up to her and said, “I think that’s my bag,” she didn’t look surprised or shocked. She just dropped the bag and ran away. We were left slightly shocked. So she planned to steal the bag…!?
6. New Zealand: Almost fighting in the plane path
It’s a long way to travel to New Zealand and during the journey there, Peter’s youngest son, Billie, caught a cold. When you cough, it’s nice to cover your mouth, but how do you tell a child to do that… when the child is sleeping?
The lady in the front seat (a sort of upper class British lady) got angry in the middle of the night and angrily snapped at Billie, who didn’t understand English, to “use a napkin” when he coughed. We are abruptly woken up by a scared boy and an angry Brit, and Peter talks back. Now the lady became even angrier and started shouting. Peter, who was pissed off, pretended to cough straight into the air, at which point the lady went completely insane and shouted “you pig!” shouted.
Peter got up to go to the toilet and the lady sent her husband upstairs and made him block the way. Now there were two angry men standing opposite each other in the aisle, and the other passengers realized that the whole thing could end badly. A few other male passengers stood up and led the British man away so the whole thing could be averted…
7. Turkey: Forgot the cell phone in the seat pocket
Peter went on a press trip to Greece with two blogging friends. On the way home, the plane had a stopover in Istanbul, and the three bloggers had to travel through the main airport to find their next flight. Along the way, Peter discovered that he had forgotten his mobile phone…in the seat pocket on board the first flight!
Going back didn’t work, and instead he had to search for “Lost and Found”. Now it was stressful! Istanbul airport is big, and he was told to enter the country, by queuing at passport control… When he finally arrived, it said “you are in the wrong place” and now he had to run again, sweaty and stressed.
Also “Turkish Airways” was not the right place (panic!), and now he had to run again to reach the domestic hall. The first place was also wrong there… but then a small gap opened up. “Is this the phone?” It wasn’t and hope sank… ‘This one then?’ And yes, there he was!!
8. Sweden: I got to fly with the king and queen
We were invited by the Austrian Tourist Board to watch the World Cup in Åre with them. Peter flew up the day before me and I, who had to finish the work first, therefore flew myself. Or alone, I was of course accompanied on the plane by many fellow passengers – including the King and Queen.
When I came on board, I didn’t notice anything. When the flight attendants said, “Your Majesty, ladies and gentlemen,” I started looking around. Then I realized that the royals had been discreetly ushered on board last and were now sitting at the front of the plane, in front of a booth. It’s a compliment that they flew scheduled flights with us mortals!
9. Island: At the airport… when an accident happened
When I lived in Iceland, I lived on the island of Home Island as a 17-year-old exchange student. To reach Reykjavik you had to fly or take a ferry. The smallest planes, which I have flown several times, carried only six passengers. You boarded by walking onto the runway and climbing up a small ladder. The flight itself took no more than 20 minutes.
Once when there was a handball match on the island, there were a lot of people at the airport. I was there too, but I can’t remember for sure if I was queuing for a flight to Reykjavik, or waiting for friends to arrive. I still remember the shock at the airport when everyone realized that an oncoming plane had crashed just before landing. Some of the seven people on board were killed instantly, the others were seriously injured. A black day, and still a terrible memory, even though it was 30 years ago.
10. Spain: The suitcases didn’t come
When we recently went on a press trip to Valencia, we each took a suitcase and checked it in. The trip only took four days, so we… had could only travel with hand luggage, but not anymore. We flew with a stopover in Amsterdam, and it turned out that the bags stopped there…
On site in Valencia we received assistance at the airport and were told that the bags would be driven to the hotel on arrival. At the hotel we were given a free toothbrush and toothpaste, and then it was just a matter of wearing the same outfit every day.
On the very last evening, Peter’s suitcase arrived at the hotel. But what about bag number two? No news about this… The next day we were supposed to fly back to Stockholm at 4 p.m., and at 11 a.m. we received a message: the bag was at the airport. It had to fly back to Stockholm with us – without being opened even once.
Did you experience anything different during the flight?
Did you experience anything different during the flight? Please tell us about your experiences!
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