Chain Delay

At Bengaluru Airport, I encountered a unique situation for the first time ever in my life. I may not know the reason now, though I may be able to guess it. Perhaps, a fate or test of patience? Only God knows. This incident was really an experience of a life time. Truly incredible?

A few months ago I planned this trip, clubbing together the finalization of a proofreading project in Bengaluru with the fellowship and training in Hyderabad. So, I booked a multicity flights, Delhi-Bengaluru-Hyderabad on 6th and 7th May respectively. For the flight from Delhi to Bengaluru, my brother could not make it, neither could I cancel it. So, the price of a flight ticket was gone.

After all the works in Bengaluru, my flight to Hyderabad by Air India Express faced a unique situation. First, the flight was preponed. Then, I prepared to leave accordingly. Just as I left for the Airport, I received a message stating that the flight was delayed by about two hours. That give me enough time to access the lounge and had my lunch, did some  reading, and blogging.

At 4 PM, when it was time for deparure, another message came mentioning the further delay, pushing down the time to 6:15 PM. Again, another ample time in my hand, I continued my reading and blogging till 6 PM only to be told that the flight got further delayed till 7:45 PM. Another test of patience? Yet, when it was 8:30 PM, a phone call and a mail came to convey that the flight was canceled at the last minute. What else could I do, except to accept the fact?

People got panicked. A lot of argument ensued. It was a clash of the emotionally charged mental "titans." It was all needless and pointless to argue about a situation beyond human control. All this while, the sole reason for the chain delays was "operational issue." The fact of the matter was, there was a heavy downpour in Hyderabad that diverted most of the flights. It was an unavoidable circumstantial situation beyond human control. To me, simply accept the fact and let it go. Others may sure beg to differ. Well, opinion and feeling cannot change the fact. Amidst uncertainty, be quite, calm down, accept, and be at peace. This was the time silence was indeed golden.

I, therefore, considered carefully and looked to the Lord what to do. Quite and clam, I decided to cancel from the two options given, cancel or adjust to the next day afternoon flight. As I went to cancel, I received a message from the Airline itself stating that the flight was cancelled.

The next decision I made was to book the earliest flight for the next day, and got it confirmed at 3:00 AM by Indigo Airlines. So, I got out of T2 and went to T1 for this flight. This gave me another 6 hours time. So I wrote a blog. Then, a message of cancellation of this flight was sent to me. This forced me to get the help of the customer care and rescheduled to the next flight at 3:05 AM. Mind you, 5 minutes difference made the Airline cancel the flight, again due to an unknown operational reason. Having thus had sufficient time again, I spent time at another lounge, enjoyed my dinner,  and completed my Bible reading for the day. In a row, I enjoyed a double lounge benefit!

When it was time to board, there was yet another commotion at the boarding counter. Another confusion ensued as angry passengers argued with clueless staff members. Because, the flight was further delayed by an hour again. The situation became so heated that security personnel had to be summoned. I patiently and calmly sat down amidst the commotion, and started blogging this experience. What better thing to do than to write this unique experience? When I was done, finally boarding started.

I boarded and blogged this experience as I sat on my specially allocated seat, near the emergency door. What an incredible experience in this incredible India! A chain delay of flights. Life lesson: Things happened, just accept the fact. 

By this chain delay, I finished all my pending reading of daily portion of the Bible for two days and ministry messages along with double lounge benefits.

Happy journey! Bon voyage! 

Lord, journey mercy.