How to almost miss your flight connection
- Sarah
- May 11, 2015
- 2 min read
Passport in one hand, boarding pass in the other, weaving in and out of slow-moving jet lagged transit passengers just to arrive at your departure gate in the nick of time. Sound like the kind of adventure you're looking for then read on for expert tips on how to almost miss your connecting flight.
1. Book a flight with a very short connection time.
On my family’s flight from Manchester to Singapore our layover time in Dubai International Airport was just 60 minutes with a suggestion to be at your gate 45 minutes prior to departure. That leaves 15 minutes transfer time in a large international airport we'd never been to before. Totally doable, right?
2. Travel with a worrier (I'm looking at you for this one, Dad)
Panicking about your potential missed connection is quite natural but keep it to yourself. Voicing your worries obviously adds to the stress levels of everyone in your party and lowers team morale when everyone is already tired and cranky from flying. Constantly checking your watch & reminding everyone that they're going to need to sprint is the least useful thing you can do at this time.
3. Hope for a delay on the tarmac.
When we landed in Dubai we had a nail-biting twenty minute wait before anyone was allowed out of their seats. The reason, drunken louts who had been verbally abusing cabin crew whilst watching the Manchester derby having to be escorted of the plane by UAE police. Way to go lads, not only does the entire airplane think you’re idiots but you’re holding everyone up because you can't behave when drunk.
4. Queue behind the most bundled up person in Dubai.
Everyone ahead of us in the security line was passing through the metal detectors shoes on and jackets on. The couple in front of us however decided to meticulously unlace their shoes (slowly) & remove every item of clothing possible until they were walking through the metal detectors practically in just their underwear. Who wears that many layers seriously?
5. Travel with a restricted speed.
My mother has arthritis in her knees meaning that after a long nine hour flight in cramped economy seats her joints are so stiff that there's only a certain pace she can walk at. No mad dash from gate to gate for us.
If you're lucky (and we were) your gate will be nearby & you can shimmy into the waiting room with five minutes to spare but if you really want to push your luck, try having your flight leave from a different terminal, heck even a different airport and let the adventure commence.
Me? I relished those five extra minutes on the plane to catch my breath and trying to spot the Burj Khalifa from a distance. (It's the blurry lights in the photo, l swear)
