The Flight That Took Off Without Me: My Rough Morning with United Airlines
Traveling can be unpredictable— I've accepted that. But nothing prepared me for the chaos I experienced flying with United Airlines on what should have been a routine domestic trip. It started early Friday morning. I had a 6: 17 AM flight and, being the responsible traveler that I am, arrived at the airport promptly at 5: 00 AM. I had already checked in online, paid for my checked bag, and all that was left was a simple bag drop with an agent. In and out, right? Wrong. What followed was two hours of standing in a line that barely moved. No signage. No communication. Just a growing group of frustrated passengers all stuck in the same limbo. I watched the clock tick past my departure time, and sure enough, my flight took off without me— already halfway to its destination while I was still stuck waiting to hand off my suitcase. I wasn’t alone. Dozens of passengers missed their flights that morning, many of us on the same one. Others headed to completely different cities met the s...