Having Avoided a Loo-ming Catastrophe and Survived an Air Condition Malfunction…

… It was eventually about coming up trumps in another of those instances when travelling becomes a race against time

My better half was particularly excited about this vacation. It was going to be a lengthy one, and we had quite a few things on the agenda. We reached the airport fairly early. Or so we thought.

To our surprise, there were only a few people lined up for the security check and ours was over in a jiffy. One look at the monitor indicated the gate, and the fact that there were no other flights scheduled to depart from the same before ours. With time at our disposal, we headed to our favorite coffee shop, grabbed the bean drink, took a seat with a view, and saw a slew of flights landing and taking off.

The only flight that was yet to land was the one that we were waiting for. The boarding gate was close to the coffee shop, and I kept checking for any change in the scheduled departure. The display screen remained static, even as the time passed by. The scheduled boarding time had passed. So had that for the final call. They neither changed the display settings nor bothered to inform passengers regarding the delay. All the talk regarding staff shortages in many airports across Europe is true, after all.

We were left to twiddle our thumbs. A sense of worry crept into our minds. There was a lot at stake for us. It was not only about a flight getting delayed or cancelled. It was also about the second half of the journey getting affected as a result. From the airport, we needed to catch a suburban train to the central station, where our next transport would be waiting. That journey had an estimated time of 30 minutes.

We had a little over two hours in between the flight and the train, and deemed this buffer period sufficient to make the connection. Now we were worried that we would miss the train, which was due to commence its journey from the central station, and was on time. It was a race against time and we were worried about getting lost in transition.

There was a sense of déjà vu but…

It is not the first time that we had found ourselves in such a situation. In fact, not long back that we had had a somewhat similar experience. During our first elaborate trip together, we had to make a connection in Singapore, towards Bali (Indonesia). Our flight to Singapore had been considerably delayed, and we had little to no buffer at our disposal.

Considering how big Changi Airport is, my better half suggested there was no point in rushing and that we should start looking for another flight. However, I was never going to give up without making a last ditch effort. In the final analysis, it worked out well. We managed to board the connecting flight just in the nick of time.

There is also this instance that I never forget where, despite of a delayed landing in Sydney, one airline staff was actually waiting to guide me towards my flight to Canberra. I quite appreciated the gesture and professionalism of the gentleman, even though both the flights belonged to the same carrier. It is these little human touches that make you realize that AI is yet to take over everything. Isn’t it?

Travelling has an element of risk involved and a race against time is arguably the worst-case scenario. Getting lost in transition is something that travellers get used to over a period. They tend to find a tangible solution as well. We had done so many a time before. But on this occasion, it was a tricky situation. Our connecting train was a late night departure, and missing it meant spending a long, sleepless night planning/waiting for an alternative. Not to forget the lack of options when it comes to food.

Heading to the loo… And inside a furnace

The delay in arrival was making us restless. I was not keen on having a third coffee, and about the airport food, the less said, the better. Am sure most will agree with me on this. So, with the intent of offering my obeisance to the porcelain goddess, I was loo-bound. As I looked back, I could see our flight nearing the runway at long last.

The next thing I saw was a woman staring at me. In my endeavor to indicate to my better half about the flight, I was standing at the door of the loo meant for… Get the drift. My wife was laughing her heart out even as I was in apology mode. I had avoided a loo-ming catastrophe and retracted before things got worse. Her laughter though continued even when I made my way to the appropriate section.

We were in for further wait though. While boarding commenced shortly after and we took our seats, it was anything but comfortable. We got to know the reason in minutes. In fact, the captain came up with a slew of explanations. He first explained the reason for the delay in arrival, and it pertained to a related delay. Then he announced that there was still some time left before we would be given clearance for departure. Then he said the air conditioning was not working, and we had to bear with it for some time.

From the window, we could see the ground staff working hard to ensure recirculation of cabin air. That being said, the lack of ventilation made things difficult inside the cabin for a considerable period. It was more than an hour after the scheduled departure that our flight was finally ready to take off. However, it was no occasion to heave a sigh of relief.

No time to recover

We had lost considerable time alright but had held on to hope. Besides, things were a lot clear now. While the departure had been delayed, the duration of the flight was the same. As such, instead of continuing to worry about the time lost, we got busy preparing a plan of action after arrival. We were aware we needed to rush soon after the aircraft docked at the bay. Reserving seats up front seemed such a smart decision at this juncture.

The pilot soon came up with the pre-landing announcement. It was time to shut down the electronic devices and pull the window shutter up. The cabin crew returned to their seats. In a matter of minutes, the flight had made a near perfect landing. We had arrived in Helsinki, Finland.

Within minutes, the door had opened. It was time to say kiitos (Thank You) to the hostess and pick up the pace. For the initiated, the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, like many of its major international counterparts, is a huge airport. It has remarkable underground infrastructure, one that can be used as a nuclear shelter, leading up to the train station.

There are multiple elevators and escalators that need to be taken to traverse the distance. As such, it is a tad time consuming, definitely not conducive for a couple in a hurry. We chugged along nonetheless. There was no time to stop. The ticket machine helped matters. One platform had a train, and we got in without any prior thinking.

As it turned out, we had got into a ‘P’ train, one that usually takes about 32 minutes to reach Rautatieasema (Central Station). As we sat down to catch breathe, we saw another train arriving, and leaving in a jiffy. It was the ‘I’ train that has fewer stations en route. It could have saved us a few minutes. That being said, when in haste you always end up taking decisions that aren’t necessarily smart.

We held on to hope, though. As and when the train would stop at each of the many suburban stations, our hearts would skip a beat. We kept saying we will make it, like we had been throughout the journey. And we did make it in the nick of time. Having got down at one of the outer platforms, we made it to the display board, made note of the platform we needed to go and dragged our luggages once again.

Our connecting train was all set to depart. We were among the last batch to board. Even before we could settle down in our berths, we could sense some movement. It was our train. It had started moving within a couple of minutes of us getting in. We had managed to win the race against time once again, and were en route to another new adventure.