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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To ask for your holiday airport disasters (lighthearted)

131 replies

Snooks1971 · 15/08/2019 21:03

Just that really! Mine isn’t a disaster more of a mishap, but my shoulders definitely hunched up next to my ears at the time due to a combination of stress, late hour, busy airport, after 2 hours on a hot coach transfer on the way back to UK....
Anyway I digress
Older ds 14 announced a headache. Ok, here’s 2 paracetamol says I and you can swallow them with the coke from the very over priced airport Subway, already purchased.
DS puts one paracetamol in his mouth, leans forward and picks up Coke bottle for a swig, accidentally drops paracetamol in bottle of coke from stupid open teenage gurning gob. Can you guess the rest?

At the time my inner voice thought it was funny but my inner voice was also very quiet at that moment. Now I can see the funny side! Please share....

OP posts:

kitk · 15/08/2019 21:07

Lol DP went to put his book in the suitcase in the check in queue and busted the zip. Literally could not get it closed. Cue three of us frantically buying a v overpriced case and repacking everything very untidily into a new case. Funny now as it was our first holiday abroad, but I could have killed DP at time even though logically it was not his fault

Original poster

Snooks1971 · 15/08/2019 21:10

Yes kitk I could’ve killed ds too! Ha yes I would be inwardly blaming DH if that had happened to us. Airports are bloody stressful....

OP posts:

Blackcountrychik83 · 15/08/2019 21:23

Earlier in the year, went away for a short break and dp convinced me alcohol could go into hand luggage... I knew it couldn't but he knew better.... Til obviously it was flagged up and we were told to check in our cases or bin the Alcohol... dp stormed down to check in, me behind going mad telling him no way was I paying to check in our luggage. Got back to security, he tried again to put them thru and again security were telling him the same. So we had to chuck it all in the bin after thr manager was shouting at us. Finally got thru security and he's in duty free looking at more alcohol because all the bottles we had chucked were presents... At this point I'm going mental and head to the gate on my own... To find the screens saying the gate had closed. At that point I'm running like a headless chicken trying to find the gate, dp is still in duty free. Yep we missed the flight whilst he was arguing about the alcohol, which wasn't even for us!!!
Airline wanted 100 euros each to change flight. Ended up having to buy new tickets and book a hotel for the night near the airport.
I thinki reached boiling point when he went for a fag and came back with a tray of burger King and asked me if I wanted a chip... I screamed at him "do you think this is a fking picnic"
Didn't help when I realised the tickets we booked included checking in our bags so we didn't even have to throw all the alcohol away after all 😠😠
Everyone else finds his antics funny... Except me!!!

dentydown · 15/08/2019 21:25

About 20 years go, before we had vegan options, I went into an airport restaurant looking for something to eat. I asked for a cheese salad roll without the cheese. I got a very snooty “we can’t do that here!” Even though they made up the rolls fresh! Was told to go away more or less. Felt so small!

HeyMonkey · 15/08/2019 21:27

Shat myself at an airport. Combination of hangover and anxiety.

iolaus · 15/08/2019 21:31

Not that bad in the end, but 17 year old daughter managed to loose her boarding pass after getting through security (and couldn't get it up on my phone for some reason (I think it was because I hadn't done it before the gate closed on the app)

Luckily the staff were fantastic and let her get on after looking her details up (I suspect it helped we had the same name and everyone else had boarded)

Hoppinggreen · 15/08/2019 21:33

Blackcountry I wouldn’t find that in the slightest bit funny either

IsobelRae23 · 15/08/2019 21:34

This is so outing:-

Got to the airport no problem. Checked in our bags, then went through security. Took ages as I had medication which had to be tested etc. Always the same so used to it.

We finish and are in duty free when I hear ‘this is a passenger announcement please can Rae report back to security’ so off I go, it turns out I’d left my doctors note.

Go up into the lounge, have breakfast when I need to have a wee. Sit on the toilet and just as it starts flowing, sirens. Banging on my toilet door ‘you need to evacuate immediately!’, I’m still weeing, so shouted back ‘i can’t yet!’. Finish go into the lounge, no one is in there except staff waiting for me.

Hurry outside and meet up with dp and the kids, turns out it was a kitchen fire and the whole airport was evacuated. So we waited outside for about 30 minutes before we could go back in.

It sounds nothing now- but as those things happen one after another, I was seriously dreading getting on the plane.

youarenotkiddingme · 15/08/2019 21:36

Got to Gatwick at 6am for 8 Pam flight. Get on plane and sit on runway for quite a while in awful snow.

Finally take off. Find out at destination airport has in fact now closed and we were last flight to leave. Returning that night we discover airports are open.

We start our decent. For the pilot to tell us we are actually being diverted as airport is full.

We arrived midnight at another airport. Get provided with coach to original airport and eventually get home about 15 hours after we should have.

SimonJT · 15/08/2019 21:42

Being detained for 9 hours when returning to the UK.

Male, brown, bearded, Pakistani passport, ‘randomly’ selected. When you’re detained you’re not allowed any form of food or drink, you’re also not allowed to use the toilet. Fun times. I waa detained on Sunday too, but not for as long as I was using a British passport.

I’m yet to see a non-beardy brown man in the detention area, it’s like a special club!!!

Biancadelrioisback · 15/08/2019 21:44

I was 5.
My dad had told me to go for a wee before we left and I didn't. My dad is quite a scary man and I was sat on the suitcase being pulled along and....well.... Needless to say my parents were not happy. Neither was the lady on the check in desk....

Original poster

Snooks1971 · 15/08/2019 21:47

Thanks all for sharing - feel a bit pathetic now with my tale of paracetamol in coke explosion compared with snow diversions, shatting oneself and losing the boarding pass!
Not being able to stop a wee mid-flow I can relate to; I’m not stopping for anyone or anything! (Not proud)

OP posts:

Original poster

Snooks1971 · 15/08/2019 21:52

@SimonJT - that makes me feel sick and bloody angry

OP posts:

Champagne791 · 15/08/2019 21:52

Instead of just leaving the pushchair with baggage handlers at the gate, DH left DD (3 months!!) in the pushchair and boarded the plane. I was already on board with DD4, when he strolled onto the plane, empty handed.

I would of killed him if it wasn’t for the fact, we had had a very long delay, we were all very tired and it was a last minute flight to visit a very sick relative and the baggage handler hadn’t turned up and they were told to board the plane and just leave the pushchairs. Our abandoned baby had slept through the whole thing, but it caused some sleepless nights for me!

IDontDrinkTea · 15/08/2019 21:57

DH was convinced we’d left the car key in the hotel room. He made me empty out our entire case on the airport floor. It was when he was literally shaking my pants out trying to find the car keys that I remembered he’d booked us in to meet and greet and thus his car keys were with the parking people back at Stansted... a random man said that at least if the plane crashed he’d know he could always use my pants as a parachute

Paperdove87 · 15/08/2019 21:58

My MIL decided to take washing powder, sugar, coffee mate etc to Canada, because of course you can't get any of those things there... She put all of the white powders into little plastic bags. Stopped by security, very serious looks etc. Turned out they knew another guy on the security line and he just rolled his eyes and laughed at them and let them through.

Sciurus83 · 15/08/2019 21:58

Blackcountry that would be a sackable offence for DP for me! I have zero tolerance for airport monsters, not having your iPad out your bag by the time you get to the belt is enough to annoy me, I could not be held responsible if I was behind him in the queue! I am often found grumbling in the queue at people "you knew where you were coming why are you not just following the simple rules" and giving dagger eyes (DH hates flying with me)

Sciurus83 · 15/08/2019 22:00

Champagne

fitflopqueen · 15/08/2019 22:04

I went on a school ski trip when I was about 13, mum bought me new cords to wear going. Bent over when in departures and cords ripped in the bum area. mortified as a young teenager - no parents, case already checked. Luckily had a longish coat so had to keep it on until sat on plane and when on coach to resort. Turned out the material was faulty - didn't help at the time.

glitterfarts · 15/08/2019 22:30

@SimonJT - My DH was detained at LHR overnight - he is white, cleanshaven, short-back-and-sides haircut.

I'm sure there are disproportionally more men of MiddleEastern and Asian countries with beards being stopped - sadly.

glitterfarts · 15/08/2019 22:32

^^ should add - my airport story. I went through customs before DH as was busting for toilet. He had the car keys, house keys, money....

I had to go to a friends house and sleep on the couch. Just what you want after a 27 hour flight/trip.

Flerkin · 15/08/2019 22:48

When I was 16 going away with parents.

One case was over the individual case limit. So dad started grabbing clothes out of the one and putting in another.

When we got to the apartment we opened the case to find mums bottle of opium perfume had also been moved and smashed all over the clothes. It stank.

And a jar of coffee had also smashed and mixed with the perfume so loads of clothes were covered in coffee paste.

I went away with (then) Dh, my kids and mum and dad. Mum left a bag unattended in the airport and dad (for some unknown reason) decided to take a load of small posts of jam and honey in his hand luggage along with all their shampoo and conditioners. Clearly liquid and pastes so not allowed. Signs all over the airport So we ended up in security for ages.

Never been with them again since.

Passthebubbly · 15/08/2019 22:54

Goodness I worked as airport management for 14 year. We actually made a book on all our passenger stories from the other side

GCAcademic · 15/08/2019 23:03

I’m yet to see a non-beardy brown man in the detention area, it’s like a special club!!!

@SimonJT - if you haven’t seen the BBC Three comedy, Muzlamic, you’ll laugh bitterly at the sketch in there on this very subject.

Seren85 · 15/08/2019 23:10

Aged 18 and going on my first girls holiday. All parents decided to drop us off at the airport. Parents didn't know I smoked and I panicked about the three lighters in my bag and security (never been abroad before) so I ran from check in to dump them in a bin and my Dad chased me. He still loves to tell the story of how I was so scared of flying that I tried to bolt...

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