Why did you miss your flight?

[unknownn]

Sitting at the British Embassy having missed my flight (due to no fault of my own ) .. wondering if anyone else has had any awful 'missing their flight experiences' to make me feel any better Also how long did it take you to get your emergency documents? Would like to know how long i could possibly have to be waiting to get another flight home. And also whether you had to pay for your new flight home if you missed your scheduled one due to losing your passport? Please be honest too hehe, thanks.

My cousin misread the time of his flight e.g. he read 15:00 as 5pm. He was flying to his own wedding! Thankfully he got another flight in time.

Hope you get sorted OP, that's scary, i've put mine in the security tubs with my ipad etc plenty of times when had my hands full, won't be doing that again!

Didnt miss it but a delay at Heathrow meant our flight to Moscow landed with 20 minutes until our connection to Tokyo. Luckily there were around 20 or so passengers all in the same boat and a very strict Russian man helped us get through the absolute shambles that is security at Moscow airport, and then told us to run to gate 22, except we couldnt find it. It was so stressful and we had to do the walk of shame onto the flight as it waited for us.

Moscow airport is unlike any other airport I have ever been to, in that the gates are interspersed within the main shopping area, so there will be a shop, then a gate, then another shop, with no sitting area beyond about 4 chairs.

Totally my own fault, never done anything this dopey since. I was having a boozy lunch in a wine bar off Leicester Square and my lunch companion suggested a second bottle of wine. I'd have probably made it nonetheless if there hadn't been a huge traffic jam on the road out to Heathrow. This was back in the days before budget airlines so BA put me on the next available flight free of charge, which was unfortunately late at night to a city several hours from mine. I spent the night with an acquaintance there and got back the following day, having thoroughly enjoyed my little adventure. But I've also never risked being late for a flight since then, despite over a hundred flights.

DD2 managed to miss her flight back from France aged 15, first time she was flying alone. We still don't know how it happened. She seems to have been waiting at the wrong gate. Also late at night. We had to coach her through it on the phone, floods of tears, but we got her into a hotel that night and then a flight back the next day. She's also been a lot more careful since! It's actually a really valuable learning curve.

We missed a flight to Spain once. Turned up at the correct airport with the required two hours to spare and two small children in tow.

Flight had been moved forward by 2 hous (pre-mobile/internet days).
Apparently we should have telephoned and checked the day before, just in case (never heard of such a thing).

Plane was still on the runway, door still open, other family members on board and clearly saying that we were there, but they refused to let us on.

I've only ever missed one flight and that's when the Picadilly line broke down on the way to Heathrow and we were trapped in a tunnel for ages. We were put on another flight 8 hours later.

I've had a couple of near misses though. Once when the Heathrow Express broke down (seriously, don't ever travel with me as I'm jinxed).

Once when my flight connection was very tight (not my choice...it was a rebooking when BA were striking and the only flights I could get for me to still make my business meeting In Texas) and the first flight was delayed. I legged it through the connecting airport in the desperate hope that my second flight might be delayed and I'd still make it. Dripping sweat, very stressed, not a good look. It was my first day in a new job and I had no idea if any of the other passengers were going to the same meeting or worked for my company. So best behaviour at all times. Thank God the connecting flight was held because so many passengers were connecting due to BA's strike action. Still messed up my first day in the new job up as it meant I finally arrived after my new boss had gone to bed so he couldn't brief me on what exactly we were doing in Texas or what time we were starting the next morning (or where!). It was a sleepless night for me. Worked out okay in the end though. But I am definitely the travel jinx.

I don't really understand what's happened with your passport OP. Are you saying it was the right passport when you checked in but somewhere between check-in and security someone has swapped your passport for a fake one? Or that your brother did something to your passport before you went to the airport? All sounds very weird. But next time, take responsibility yourself. You shouldn't be relying on your brother. If you're old enough to fly alone, you're old enough to be responsibility for checking you have all the correct paperwork (including insurance) and looking after it AT ALL TIMES.

We ran out of petrol on the way to Stansted and missed our flight, we booked on the next one, but that got cancelled! Then they all got cancelled.... The Iceland volcano.
It worked out for the best, as if we had caught our flight we wouldn't have been able to get back, and elderly in-laws would have been stuck looking after DC a lot longer than would have been comfortable for them.

Missed one with my then-boyfriend as he hadn't read the flight details properly (he booked it, I didn't even have a copy of the email) and thought the arrival time was the departure time! We got another flight the next day but it taught me to always get a copy of the flight times...

Another time I was banned from boarding the plane at passport control as I hadn't noticed that my visa had expired three days ago. That was a palaver and a half - they had to take my bags off the plane and I had to find somewhere to stay for three days (it was a Friday night) until I could get my visa officially extended in order to leave... that made zero sense to me, but it was better than my poor colleague who tried to enter the country before his visa started and ended up in a small jail cell at the airport

Another time my connecting flight was late into Newark so we missed the connection. The airline were absolutely sod all help, incorrectly booked us onto the next flight so we didn't get allocated seats and had to miss that one too. Never flying with Continental again!

Nearly missed one years ago when I was just out of uni - hadn't been on a plane in a long time and forgot what you did at the airport - we only went through security once the gate number was showing and then spent some time browsing in the bookshop. Wasn't used to an announcement-free airport so we got the shock of our lives when we checked the board and it was last call. We had to leg it down about 8 miles of corridor and do the walk of shame down the plane

These days I take at least 20 flights a year so I have my airport routine down to a fine art.

@TravellingSpoon walk of shame made me smile. We did that once onto a tiny prop plane from Schipol to Uk. All five of us, about 50% of the passengers. To be fair it’s a massive airport and the dc were very slow at walking
The plane taxied and took off before we’d barely fastened our seat belts.

DH went to the wrong airport once.
To be fair it was a business trip and it usually went from Heathrow, just this time a slightly different route had been booked and he was meant to be at Gatwick.

I often wonder if they called our names at the airport

No they wouldn’t, not unless you’d checked in.
For various reasons I have booked flights then not taken them (without cancelling) on quite a few occasions but I wouldn’t class that as missing a flight.
Somehow, in years and years of extremely regular flying (I used to basically commute weekly to a European city), and always leaving myself the bare minimum of time to get there and check in, I’ve never actually missed a flight! The only time I was close was when DH’s bag had to go on as ‘oversized luggage’ and there was no one at the kiosk to check it in.

Oh and once turned up for a flight that the airline had cancelled a few dahs previously but failed to mention it to us!

In the same vein I nearly missed a Eurostar once. Had a through ticket from Hamm (West Germany) to London with reservations on certain trains. The ticket gave me a 23 minute transfer at Brussels. Turns out it's supposed to be a 45min minimum on a ticket like that! Train was late into Brussels, legged it across Brussels station with a 5 and 7yo plus luggage (no other adults) and made it as check in was closing. 5 seconds later we would have missed it. At least on Eurostar once you reach check in they hold the train to get you through security and passport control. We were being ushered into the train by staff. Then had the joy of evicting people from our reserved seats as they wanted a table.

Umm quite a lot now I think about it.

HK, missed by a day. Pissed.
NY, wrong day - genuine mistake on my part
Glasgow - no idea
NY again. - massive snowfall, got stuck trying to get to airport

All sorted out by my lovely and long suffering travel dept (flying for work)

Cape Town - passport stolen
Sardinia - left bag with passport in by the side of the car flying back from HK

Both sorted out with temp passport from embassy (CT) and fast track passport at Victoria passport office.

Both took a good few days though.

I got stoned in Amsterdam and lost my passport when was young and silly.

The airport just made a phone call and got a confirmation of who I was, I did have a photo driving licence, before putting me on another plane. I can't really remember the rest, I was absolutely caned. The airport man was not bothered in the slightest as it happens all the time apparently.

@CandiceSucksCandy - superb

We missed a flight by leaving work to get to airport god knows what we were thinking we caught a later flight didnt cost too much

Went to the wrong airport. Tried to get from Heathrow to Gatwick and didn't make it FML

M6 'car park' (Friday pm) made me and my kids miss our flight - we arrived two hours after take-off. Hotel overnight, new flight in the morning (£££), and nearly missed that one!! I was practically frothing at the mouth - the flight attendant said "Calm down!" and I felt very silly. (She may be used you airports and planes but I'm not!)

Not missed one but have run through Luton airport and begged to go to the front of the (long) queue at passport control due to a crash delaying traffic on the motorway - thankfully border staff could see me panicking and guided me through priority passport control

I haven't missed a flight as in I wanted to catch it and failed. I've no-showed a couple though.

Missed a flight to Tenerife because I was buying sunglasses in duty free and didn't look at the board
They moved us onto the next flight - I'm now not allowed to go sunglasses shopping when in an airport

Didn't actually miss my flight but many years ago before we were married DH and I were having our first holiday together. It was long haul to Indonesia.
In Heathrow departure lounge he remarks - " oh look I only have another 3 months left on my passport!"

I get an icy feeling in my tummy and manage to squeak WHAT!!!
He had no idea it would be a problem. Even argued with me that it was fine.
15 hours later we get off at Denpasar. They wouldnt let us in the country. I was so annoyed I was fully prepared to let him get on the flight back on his own.
We got hauled into a tiny room and given the whole good cop/ bad cop routine by border guards.
It occurred to me they were expecting a bribe and if they knew how much cash I had in me they would want all of it. When they left the room to let us sweat I stuffed the majority in my knickers.
We left 100 dollars lighter and shaking like a leaf. The guard who stamped us in told us we could never tell anyone what he had done, if he found out we had he would find us....

I booked an 8oclock flight, I assumed 8pm but it was 8am!! And to make it worse I was cabin crew at the time travelling on a staff ticket!!

I’d almost forgotten, flying to Tel Aviv to deliver tender documents, we were still pulling stuff off the printer and binding 20 documents minutes after I should have left for the airport. That was a bit tight. Then trying to get out of Tel Aviv I was hauled out of the queue, questioned by two different people over about 30 minutes, and then finally allowed to get on the plane (walk of shame).

Next time I went there, on the return flight I got held back at the door of the plane and was only allowed on at the last minute and seated in a different seat - at least this time it was because they sat me next to an unaccompanied minor (not that they told me, I only found out when we came in to land and then I felt bad because I’d completely ignored the girl for 4 hours).