Passengers share their worst ever travel experiences
Air travel is more accessible and efficient than it has ever been.
But that doesn't mean we can't have a good whinge about it from time to time. Because for all its benefits, sometimes air travel is genuinely unbearable.
A Reddit thread asked the question: "What's the worst experience you've had at an airport or on an airplane?"
For fellow frequent fliers, this is schadenfreude at its finest. Here are some of the highlights.
Goose strike
One Reddit user was onboard British Airways Flight 95 from Heathrow, London to Montreal, Canada in 1998 when it hit a flock of more than 100 geese - one of the worst bird strikes ever recorded.
"We lost three engines immediately and all four engines were on fire," the user wrote. "I had a great view as I was sitting in the emergency exit on the left hand side.
"There were alarms going off, flight attendants rushing through the cabin preparing everyone for what was about to go down (no pun intended)! The pilot came on the audio system and you could hear the fear or stress in his voice, 'Please take out your safety cards and get into crash position and listen carefully to your attendants, we are going to try and bring us in'."
Fortunately, the plane landed safely, and no one was injured.
Toilet troubles
One passenger experienced a sudden onset of severe food poisoning just as their plane was about to take off.
"The flight was backing away from the terminal when I got out of my seat and rushed to the toilet. The attendant tried to stop me, but when I said 'I'm going to be very sick', he kindly let me through," they wrote.
"Then the vomit came a'rushing. Some moments later I opened my eyes to realize I was on the floor and had passed out. It took me a second or two to realise I was still on the airplane and not sure how long I was out."
The passenger said they managed to tidy themselves up and make it back to their seat. However, the worst was yet to come - as they sat down, an unfortunate bout of diarrhoea took over. At this point, the plane headed back to the terminal, where paramedics were called.
Sickly seatmate
And another one from the foul files. A passenger was on a short flight from Michigan to Florida in the US when the man sitting next to them warned he "sometimes gets sick from flying".
"I fell asleep and woke up to him projectile vomiting all over me. I was in the window seat and it went all up the walls of the plane and entire plane smelled putrid."
False alarm
You never want to see your pilot act in a way that can be perceived as anything less than calm - but another user witnessed an extreme example.
"All of a sudden the pilot raced out of the cockpit, stopped at the row in front of me, and started frantically demanding they get out of their seats because he needed to get a better view of the plane wing," they wrote.
"Once the row has gotten up, he kneels over and looks from the window seat out for about a minute. He thanks them, turns around, and goes back to the cockpit.
"People are confused and asking what's going on and no one knows. Maybe 30 minutes later he finally announces on the speaker that everything is fine with the plane and there was some erroneous warning light that had come on."
Major delays
One passenger had to spend 30 hours in Istanbul Airport after their Turkish Airlines flight was seven hours late, causing them to miss their connection.
"No hotel, food or even drinks were provided," the user wrote. "After three months of harassing them on all social media channels I could find, they refunded the ticket plus expenses ultimately."
Another passenger had to sit on the tarmac at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel for three hours after all of the Hasidic Jews refused to sit next to women.
"Spent the whole time playing musical chairs to appease them," the user wrote.
What’s the worst thing that ever happened to you while you were on holidays? Do you have any travel stories you’d like to share?
Please let us know in the comments below.
First appeared on Stuff.co.nz.
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