When Air Travel Goes Awry

Today started off well. I woke up early and went to the club to run wind sprints. I almost didn’t since I was supposed to get to Frankfurt at 4pm and there’s a gym at my hotel. In the end I am happy I went. And happy I picked up a nice sandwich after (even if there were no madeleines available).

Today I supposedly had an 11:45 flight to Frankfurt via Brussels. I checked in and was informed of a 15 minute delay. No problem I thought. I missed the turn to the star alliance lounge and ended up going past the secondary security into an austere waiting room. But hey it was only 45 minutes, no problem..except it was a problem.

There was no one from the airline downstairs by the gate, other than passengers. The 15 minute delay had turned into 3+ hours. And we couldn’t go back into the terminal as there was no one from security, or the airline to help. One woman had 2 kids including an upset 2 year old. After a long delay we were finally escorted out of the airport. Anyone who could not navigate a lot of stairs was out of luck.

I called Lufthansa and was told I was rebooked on TAP airlines, a Portuguese airline, to Frankfurt via Lisbon, 5 (vs 2) hours of flying. Next I had to go get my bags from baggage claim though. At least I had lots of time, and it took a while.

Next I had to check in and go through security a second time…fun! Bordeaux airport is NOT where one wants to get stuck, especially with bags. It’s small, and uninteresting. One cannot check in till 2 hours before the flight is scheduled to leave. And of course one cannot go through security to the airport lounge or to the shops post security without checking big bags.

About 2.5 hours before a flight the airport displays tell passengers where to check in. About 30 minutes later a couple of airline employees drag posts to cordon off 2 lines. An electric sign changes to show the airline’s name. I was lucky since I have star alliance gold and apparently no one else did. There was still a wait since Tap didn’t have an electronic ticket for me. But eventually the ticket was retrieved and my bags are checked.

I am hoping that both my luggage and myself make the connection in Lisbon to Frankfurt. We should in an hour…fingers crossed 🤞 since I have a noon flight tomorrow to the USA.

All in all nothing earth shattering but flying and traveling in general takes some patience and flexibility.

Lots to drink in this lounge!