Last week, Flight UL 605 from Melbourne to Colombo was rescheduled, due to the fact that the plane had been struck by lightning. The passengers were waiting to board at the gate. We were given a food voucher while the airline checked on the status of the plane.
There were 300 or so passengers involved, booked on the direct flight which saves so much time and trouble in transit through various airports. Many of the passengers were retirees, some were disabled, and there were several groups of Australian tourists, faced with missing the early part of their pre-booked and pre-paid tours.
I am aware that there have been a number of complaints about the national carrier in social media over the past several months, and I am writing this to testify that, in this difficult situation on 4th November, the Sri Lankan Airlines staff both on the ground at the airport, and on the flight when the flight took off the next day, were exemplary in their conduct: professional, courteous and very calm and helpful.
There were a mere 4.5 hours of administrative distress between the time we were waiting at the gate to when we were given vouchers to hotels, or cab vouchers to friends’ houses, to stay the night in Melbourne and await the call to return for the rescheduled flight the next day.
It was not chaos, it was relatively orderly. People were realistic, and comparatively cheerful. But it was frustrating. There were no small trolleys made available for the lugging of carry-on baggage as we trekked back to the baggage carousels, and then back to the booking counters to hand in our initial boarding passes. There seemed to be no ground support at the airport helpfully indicating where lifts or escalators were. If you were physically disabled or handicapped, it would have been very difficult.
In those 4.5 hours, it was easy to think about things we normally don’t consider. We were not struck by lightning. We were neither damaged nor destroyed. We were inconvenienced, and that gap between our expectation and the reality was navigated very well, largely because of the attitude of both the passengers and the airline staff. Passengers with the need to make early connections in Melbourne to other flights could have been identified earlier than they were, people needing assistance with heaving their carry-on luggage from area to area of the airport, could have been supplied with small trolleys, and those sturdy golf buggies could have been used far more effectively to dissolve the miles of faux marble floors through the Duty Free to the gates in reverse.
The eventual flight when it took off a few hours late on 5 November was definitely a blessing in disguise: two planes were apparently used to serve the passengers, so there was far more comfortable seating available. The in-flight films were excellent. The food was tasty, and served in abundance. Not a single event of air turbulence. A perfect landing.
How many times do any of us think, while complying with airline safety regulations, about the possibility that any act of God could happen, to destroy our plans - not only for our holidays, but our lives? The more frequently we fly, the more likely it is that an emergency may occur. What if the plane had been struck by lightning with all of us on it? We would probably not have had time to be afraid - or to complain.
Some years ago, on a flight from South America to Sydney, I met a young woman who had never flown on a plane before. Having come by bus to the airport from her small town, she was completely entranced by every little detail of the flight. It was a long flight, direct from Buenos Aires, and there were several meals served.
The airline staff served chocolate and vanilla ice cream Magnums for dessert, and this young lady laughed out loud in joyful delight. When we all asked why, she said: ‘I cannot believe I am having ice cream - in the sky!’
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