I had decided a six month hiatus was far too long, and that with the New Year I would start writing regularly on my blog again. I had no idea I would start with such a newsworthy story to write about…
It had been a long day already and I had gone for a run earlier in the day, so I was pretty exhausted and looking forward to sleeping for most of the flight home to Seattle. I had settled into my seat on Continental Airlines Flight 1881 at Newark Liberty International Airport, and soon was asleep. All was right with the world…
I awoke to a PA announcement from the pilot. We were still on the ground. He was saying something about getting off the plane, going through security, it would take two hours. I was still waking up so it didn’t make a lot of sense. But people started getting up and gathering their carry-on baggage.
I asked passengers around me what was going on, and they clarified that there had been a “situation†and we would need to get off the plane, exit the secure area of the terminal, and then be re-screened by security. Oh boy. I already knew what an “efficient†process that could be, and under these circumstances surely it was going to be much worse. Our captain was clearly a certified optimist if he thought we would be back in our seats in two hours.
When I say “we†would have to be screened I don’t just mean me and the people around me on the plane. I don’t just mean everyone on the plane. I mean everyone on every airplane and in every corner of the secured area at Terminal C at Newark. Everyone. That’s a lot of planes and a lot of people. You might call it a mob scene.
After getting off the plane and heading toward the exit, there was a crowd like I had never seen at any airport. And this time the crowd was trying to exit the terminal, not enter it. This was insanity.
We started to hear rumors that someone had walked into the secure area through the exit of the security screening area, and that the TSA personnel lost track of him and didn’t know where he was. Other than the PA announcement from the pilot, there were no further announcements. Ever.
After exiting the secure area, it suddenly looked like a Red Cross shelter during a natural disaster. People were everywhere, nobody knew where to go, and nobody knew exactly what was going on.
Finally working through the mob, I sat on the edge of the baggage claim carousel and tried to settle in for a very long wait. People were already lined up to go back through security, but there was no movement. Security personnel had even blocked access to most of the escalators, so you couldn’t move easily between the several floors of the terminal.
Still not a single announcement about the situation from anyone. I got all my information about what was going on by getting online and checking the major news websites. The lockdown at Terminal C was the top story on all the major networks.
I kept checking the status of my flight on my iPhone. I had an incredibly difficult time placing phone calls (simply too many people trying to make calls at the same time, I’m sure), but was able to get a data connection. The estimated departure time for my flight kept getting moved out, half an hour at a time. It was as if the airline was perpetually suggesting we would be leaving in an hour, except their clock apparently wasn’t moving. That magic hour never passed.
Of course, I’m an information junkie, so I kept checking the status. And then I saw a word I really didn’t want to see: canceled.
There had still be absolutely no announcements, so I figured most people on the flight didn’t know it had been canceled yet, and I rushed to find an airline agent who could get me on another flight so I could get home to teach the first night of the class I was to teach at the University of Washington Extension. A woman at the International counter told me I had to go to the Domestic counter, but that my flight was indeed canceled and it would be at least a couple days before I could get a flight home.
I went to stand in line at the Domestic counter, and everyone in line was equally frustrated and appalled at the situation. When I got my turn with an agent, he said I could be put on standby for a later flight that night, but that I would never get on it. He said the next flight he could get me on was Thursday morning. This was on Sunday night. I couldn’t get another flight home for over three days. I asked if there were any other airports I could go to so I could get an earlier flight home. Nothing.
I asked about my bags. He told me to go downstairs to the Baggage Service counter and they could pull my bags for me. He made it sound so simple…
At the Baggage Service counter I was told my bags would go on the next available flight to Seattle. I told the woman I wasn’t able to get on a flight until Thursday. She said, “No problem, they’ll be waiting for you there when you arrive.†I explained that I really needed my stuff, but she said there were tens of thousands of bags affected by this situation, and they weren’t retrieving bags for anyone. I told her I thought it wasn’t legal for my bags to be on a flight without me, and she told me it wasn’t legal for a passenger to do that, but it was legal for the airline to do that.
I did get a toiletry kit from the airline, but no change of clothes. And they wouldn’t provide any ground transportation, hotel, spending money, money for clothes, or any other benefits. She explained that since this situation was not the fault of the airline, they were under no obligation to do anything about it. So I was on my own…
I had arrived at the airport shortly after 4pm for a 6pm flight (which had been delayed due to strong winds). I boarded the flight at close to 7pm, had to get off the plane at around 8pm, found out my flight had been canceled at about 10pm, and didn’t actually leave the airport until 1am.
I can’t say this whole situation has done anything to improve my already less-than-favorable opinion of TSA, airport security, airline personnel, or airline customer service. I can say it reinforces my opinions about why the airlines consistently have such a difficult time earning a profit, despite all those fees they pile onto the cost of your ticket.
To add insult to injury, when I checked in for my flight at the airport, the nice little computer told me the flight was overbooked and if I agreed to take a later flight they would give me a $300 voucher. If only I had known…
Hi Tim…Sorry to hear you got caught up in that…what an ordeal! The overbooking notice was, indeed ironic. That is one of the most nefarious practices that airlines engage in. Good luck with the unwanted Newark adventure and hopefully in getting home before Thursday.
Wow Tim – that’s horrible! I was in Ottawa trying to fly to Seattle via Newark but our flight was mysteriously delayed by hours. Since we were going to miss our connection to Seattle, we chose to stay in Ottawa for the night and catch an Air Canada flight to Seattle via Toronto the next day — and good thing we did! I guess we would have had to spend 3 days in NYC too… Hope you manage to get home sooner than Thursday — and happy new year!
Absolutely the worst airport situation one could imagine. So, um, are you still there, at that airport? If not, how did you get home?
The terrorists have clearly won. Hell they don’t even have to tie up two more airports in the NYC area! On WC Field’s tombstone is: I would rather be in Philadelphia. Did you try that?
-Earle
So sorry to hear you were caught up in that mess. That $300 sounds like a great deal with hindsight, if you took it you would probably be already home by now on that later flight with $330 in you pocket. You need to get a time machine that just goes ahead 8 hours and helps you make wiser decisions.
I’m sure they’ll do a _fine_ job with health care though!
This is security theater at its worst. Thanks for the detailed report, I hope a lot of people see it. But it’s terrible you had to go through all this.
Wow, that’s a really terrible way of handling things. If I could get a refund I’d try and book a flt out of JFK or Drive to PHL or BWI. Waiting until Thursday is utterly ridiculous. Good Luck!
So, Tim, were you really stuck at Newark for several days sans clean clothes and amenities? As one who spent many years flying out of Newark on business trips, I feel your pain. Fortunately, I was never stuck there for days.
My worst “event” was leaving work in NYC at 2PM one day and not getting out until the following morning on what should have been a day out/day in turnaround. I wasn’t exactly “fresh” for my meeting.
My best experience was the one-year anniversary of 9/11. Seems everyone else feared that terrorists would strike at a time when I was fairly certain that even the dumbest thug in the world would avoid such heightened security. Sure enough, Newark was a ghost town. The airport and airline employees were super-relaxed and friendly because, hey, no travelers…except for lucky me.
Happy New Year anyway!
Cheers.
Ed
Wow Tim, not a good way to start off the new year. Sure hope everything works out and that the rest of the year is nothing like that when you travel.
If enough people just sat down and refuse to go anywhere without food, water and guaranteed flight the message might be that something needs to be done about the stupid theater put on at every airport by the TSA. It would be great television coverage to see the police move in to arrest thousands of people who are simply trying to get home. Somehow I don’t feel any safer by what you had to put up with yesterday. Good luck. I just added Continental to by “no fly” list.
I recently received an article from a friend, regarding airport security. I was re-reading it when your newsletter arrived, containing this blog entry. Talk about coincidence! I’m not going to copy the whole article here, but I am including a link to the website. This was published in the Toronto Star December 30, 2009. You can see the actual article at:
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/744199—israelification-high-security-little-bother
Right after hurricane Katrina destroyed our Gulf Coast, I sent an email to my two Senators, suggesting that we ask the Dutch for assistance in keeping the ocean out of New Orleans. Considering that they have some of the best hydraulic engineers in the world, who are involved in keeping the ocean out of their entire country, they certainly must have some ideas on how to keep one small city dry (if it was necessary to rebuild New Orleans below sea level again, anyway).
What I got back from our government was standard political drivel, with promises to spend more money and find fault with the administration.
If you follow the link above to read about the Israelification of our airports, you will see some real intelligence at work. Would our self-centered political ruling class ever think of anything similar? I doubt it.
My flying-on-business days were over long before 9-11-2001 happened, so I can only imagine what airport life is like now. My sincere condolences, and hopes for better experiences in the future.
So as I write this, (Monday Jan 4) you are still back there?
I have said before and your story confirms for me that if you need to travel anywhere in the lower 48, just drive. If it is summertime, I would include Alaska in that. One can come and go at will, eat when you want and for an added bonus not have to put up with TSA or airline idiots.
Someone might mention that it is more dangerous on the road, but to answer that, why is it logical that the only members of any airline that know what they are doing is the pilots?
3 years ago, my two teenaged sons and I were similarly dumped in Dallas, TX. We were coming back from a two week Christmas holiday in the UK. We were catching a connecting flight in Dallas/Fort Worth, back to California. Due to weather, we were first in a holding pattern, then diverted to Nashville to refuel – We finally, after a few hours on the tarmac, made it to Dallas, where all outgoing flights were cancelled.
We were given a hotel voucher for one night, but told it would be several days before we could catch a flight out. School was starting in two days, so we rented a car and drove 1200 miles nonstop in 24 hours.
Actually, the boys kinda liked that part.
The situation for you and the others was bad enough, but not having any announcements seemed to have compounded the situation. The decision not to disseminate information is unconscionable. I am an experienced traveler, but would not have handled this situation very well.
I am not sure why they couldn’t have tried to book you out of JFK or LaGuardia sooner than Thursday. Heck, even flying to Charlotte or Pittsburgh or even Chicago or Denver could have gotten you to another hub and a flight home earlier!
Here’s my advisce. Rent a car and drive home. It’ll take you 3 or 4 days. It’ll be way less stressful than being held captive back east. Take the watch the weather, it’s bad. You’ll have more material for the blog, a moment to take a breather and maybe some fun. Just watch the weather. Enjoy, I’ve done it myself although not quite that far.
Suzanne from San Luis Obispo
Tim — I think for us Seattlites that Newark is just some sort of a hellhole to befuddle our travel needs — particularly if you are flying on Continental.
On a trip to Paris through Newark, Continental left Seattle two hours late due to a depression in the Newark area, telling me that if my flight left late the connection to Paris would leave late as well.
No way Jose! The connection to France left about 90 minutes late and I was left holding the bag. In this case Continental did little to help 300 folks or so who were also left high and dry and would just smile at you and say “We don’t control the weather, so we can’t do anything for you.”
I lost a day of vacation and what really was irksome is that Continental’s Liberty team did not really seem to care one way or the other.
C’est la vie
-rr
OH MY GOLLY! I heard all about this on the news and just couldn’t believe what I was hearing or seeing…the mass of humanity. One guy goes the “wrong way” in an airport and they feel the need to check out every single human within a 10 mile radius to see if they are him? WHAT? Can you say, “over reaction” in the grandest way! So sorry to hear you were/are caught up in this AND they won’t even let you have your bags OR a reimbursement of any kind. This is positively mind boggling and I’m sure doesn’t make ANYONE feel safer flying. Best of luck getting home, hope you get there before Thursday! Let us know if your saga continues!
This was an interesting blog because I heard the announcement on Channel 4 about the terminal problem at Newark and that flights had been delayed. Like most everyone else; hoped everything would turn out fine; no one hurt and planes fly safely to destination. But your blog puts in perspective what this entire event meant to travelers ejected from their planes and others whose flights delayed and then cancelled. You were told that you could not get another flight until THURSDAY and that you could not get your luggage. You had to absorb the cost of staying for three nights paying for lodging and clothes and throwing a monkey wrench in your schedule. That is mind boggling. Hope that you somehow are back in Seattle and not still stuck in Jersey waiting for a Thursday flight. Unbelievable blog/story. Hope you’re safely home and considering Amtrak for next trip.
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What an ordeal! And with the newly-increased security measures, passengers face even more embarrassment before reaching the gate. Many of us find airports so stressful, we avoid flying except when absolutely necessary. No wonder the airlines aren’t making much profit.