What’s the worst travel experience you’ve ever had?
I live in a small city with a regional airport. There are few direct flights, so I usually have to connect in Denver or Dallas. Getting back home is not always easy. The flights back to my city are often delayed for one reason or another. I am not a frequent traveler, but in the seven years I’ve lived here, my return flight has been delayed overnight three times.
Four years ago, when I was returning from a business trip, my flight from Denver was delayed several times. I think it was because they were waiting for an airline employee to show up. The delay was so long that I could have rented a car and driven back home. They finally canceled the flight around midnight.
The gate agent told us we could get in line to talk to another airline agent. That line was too long! No way was I going to wait in line for hours when I already had been waiting for hours.
Side note: I was traveling alone. I had rotatator cuff surgery a few weeks before, and my right arm was in a sling.
The gate agent did not say anything about overnight accommodations, not even about cots for us to sleep on. Later, I found out that some of the passengers were sent to a room with cots and blankets.
I’m pretty familiar with the Denver airport. I went out to the arrival/departure area where you can catch ground transportation. I used my phone to see if I could find a hotel for the night. Nothing afforable was available. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law live outside Denver. I debated calling them but didn’t want to be a bother.
I went back inside and walked around a bit. I saw a lot of people trying to sleep in the walkways near the closed restaurants and shops on a level of the airport just above the security screening area.
I found a spot and tried to sleep. With an injured shoulder. With the loud sounds of workers cleaning. With the nervousness that comes with being a woman alone among strangers.
Morning could not come quickly enough. Sleep was not happening.
