Travel
Never Say No to That Sandwich before Your Flight
It started as a stress-free trip though I had to wake up early in Creston, Iowa, to make sure I eat a light breakfast before boarding the flight back to Orlando, Florida. My buddy Josh, an early bird, asked me if I’d like him to make me a cheese sandwich while I get ready for the flight.
“No, thank you,” I said. “I’ll be good.” I was thinking of keeping my body fuel reservoir on the lighter side for this 3-hour trip that was supposed to land at the destination shortly after 1:30 pm – lunch time. So a sandwich would only kill my appetite for a fuller post-flight lunch.
As Josh dropped me at the Des Moines airport, I said goodbye to the freezing Iowa and cruised through the airport security to board my flight to Orlando, warming up to the thought of warm and sunny Florida weather. Little did I know what awaited me on that flight.
To our excitement, the flight captain announced getting close to Orlando an hour earlier than expected and asked us to expect landing in the next 38 minutes. It didn’t take long for that to change. We were told that Orlando International Airport did not give the flight the clearance to land so we were circled around for over an hour to try land again at our destination airport. As the plane got back near Orlando, the captain announced that we got the green signal to land, and the passengers all cheered. This excitement didn’t last more than a few minutes as the captain again announced that the green signal had been revoked and at this point they had no option but to land in Tampa and see where things stood before deciding further. We onboard were left with signs and frowns.
It was past 2 pm when we landed in Tampa. I texted my friends in both cities – Orlando and Tampa – to update them on my status. The captain them updated all passengers that we were supposed to refuel and then fly back to Orlando once they give us the green signal. The airline didn’t offer us any free food or snacks and far as I understood the situation, we were not supposed to leave the plane. With my tummy screaming for food, I remembered Josh’s offer of a cheese sandwich and regretted not taking it. After nearly two hours at Tampa Airport, we finally took off and landed in Orlando.
Feeling exhausted and starving, my lesson learnt from this misadventure was not to refuse what food you can safely pack in the bag when going on a flight where you can’t have food onboard if stranded. Now if it was a train ride on Amtrak where a cafe serves meals and snacks throughout the trip, it’d be a different story. But for all future flights, it’ll be safe to carry a snack or a mini meal just in case of a surprise delay or diversion.
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Yes, don’t forget that sometimes trains run out of food also! Especially if you’re at the tail end of a trip that’s been greatly delayed because of problems along the way! Rveryone who was ever in the girl or boy scouts knows the most important scout motto is this: “Be prepared!” That means sandwich in hand, or at least a banana!