I've made tweeter my new blog but for those who have not been keeping up with it, I bring you the latest tale of airport life.
January 28 past around 2am... An unattended package was found. It turned out to be harmless as I expected. But they evacuated the place anyway in case it was a bomb. I was at the gate past security with my purse and keys locked in the office. I could go out only through the runway exit but couldn't go to the other side of security to get my stuff so I was stuck. I didn't know how long it would take to get rid of the "emergency" and I was angry at the possibility of being stuck for long hours.
We finished birding with those who had made it past the check point before it closed. About 24 were left on land because the captain decided he was leaving before they grounded the plane. (The gate stays active even if the counters and check point are closed since its already past security.)
Then we remained at the gate not wanting to go out because we couldn't come back in and it was lightly raining. Finally, the bomb squad took the bag away and we could return to the office relatively quickly. Although I was worried about all the useless overtime the whole time and the office wifi didn't reach the gate so I was kind if bored after I played a bit of each iPod game. The flight was gone & the gate empty so there was nothing to do.
Then we had to make new reservations for the passengers that didn't make it. Then finally an hour and a half or more after the usual time I went home.
Now for the next story... It's January 29, around midnight. I arrive for my shift & find the parking in darkness. The guard still let me in. There were lights lining the runway but the lighthouse shaped control tower was in darkness. I get to the airport, it's dark and empty with just a security guard walking around with a flashlight. I took my ducky flashlight and made it to the office.
The office was unlocked but deserted. Purses and drinks were left there signaling the presence of civilized life being there not long ago. I occupied myself with tweeter drafts as there was no wifi but I had to occupy myself somehow. Boss lady eventually got there and I asked if the apocalypse happened and I missed it. We joked about it until someone else arrived with food rations for our survivor's cave: spicy fries! Due to the lack of electricity the cafeteria was closed and I got really thirsty.
The plane could land since the runway lights still worked even if the local tower was out. (There's another airport 4 hours away that could somehow do traffic control.) we wondered how we would manage to get the passengers off the plane and give them their luggage in the dark if they did land here instead of redirecting. Then they would have to wait for the electricity to come back so we could work the check in process. Thankfully the light came on albeit dimly. Do you see why I complain about the electricity system in my area and why I'm terrified of blackouts? Because the possibility is real and very bad. I don't want to go too long without Internet and light and cold Pepsi!
You think it's over? No it's not. We heard that the passenger who forget the bag called about it today asking if anyone found it. Troublesome mistake much? I hope security tells him a thing or two. So we're doing the check in hoping the electricity stays with us when we hear about another unattended bad though thankfully they found the owner quickly.
Time to breathe easy and flow into another normal day? Not yet. An elderly passenger fell and hit his head. Cue the ambulance. Okay now it's over.
The 28 was worse because of the uncertainty of huge overtime with my stuff locked in the office. It didn't take too long in the end but I didn't know that at the time. The 29 was interesting. I had my things near so I could just go home if they closed the place so it wasn't too bad. I worried about the condition of the electric service in this city but that's an old worry anyway.
Overall I feel calm when I know I can just leave if I don't want to deal with something. That assurance of freedom makes it easy to stay and watch everything unfold. At least we got some giggles out of our apocalyptic theories, it was like a cliche movie. Sorry for misspelling twitter I always forget how to spell it. I'm totally dependent on the spell checker.
Anyway if you want to hear more stories check out twitter tweeter or however you call it. I post there often so you'll know what happens when it happens and I can share without having to type so much at once because I'm getting lazy with that.
https://twitter.com/miliazure
