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International boarding fiasco w/ minors
I'm in the Dublin airport with my son. The group I'm about to describe is American, and it doesn't matter but so are we.
We are early and the flight ahead of us was just closing the gates. A group led by two men with about 10 kids age 12-17 run up. The agents tell them sorry, we just closed, but they persist and the gate agents relent, seeing all the kids. As they are scanning passports, two more kids run up. The agents are surprised, as are the two men leading the group.
It's chaos, but it all seems ok. The men in charge are already scanned in as the two stragglers get scanned. One group leader says to the other 'do we have them all? ... I don't think I've seen my kid.'
...
The gate agents are alarmed (as is the crowd waiting for the next flight, watching on), and the agent says 'who are you missing?' Neither guy knows, exactly. They are sure of at least one, one of their own children, maybe one more?
My eyes begin to pop out of my head. The guy with the missing kid goes 'can you tell us who we're missing?' To the gate agent. The agent has to literally sift through the manifest for minors. They check a few things and it turns out they are missing not one or two, but eight kids. EIGHT.
One kid arrives during this, looking bewildered and frazzled. He's all alone. The guys 'help' by shouting at the kid to hustle and board.
7 missing kids in an international airport. These men in charge of the kids have no clue what they are doing, and seem to think that it should be someone else's job to get these kids safely to the gate. I'm losing my mind just watching this unfold.
The chaperone men stand around right next to the gate agents, not even at a helpful location where they can bring kids in with a better line of sight, doing absolutely nothing. Some chatter emerges that suggests this is a connection flight.
The agents are squirming, hard, presumably realizing they made a big mistake letting this group partially board.
Two kids show up, also frazzled and stressed. These dudes yell at this pair just like the last kid to hustle and board.
5 still missing. At this point, the plane has been held up a long time past when the gates were already closed. The gate agents have to tell the men that one needs to go onboard with the group of children. Off goes one of the dudes.
More minutes pass. Names called over the loud speaker. No kids.
The gate agents ask the dude if he'll board, or stay behind if all don't show in the next 2 minutes because they need to pull his bag if he's not continuing. The guy didn't know. He didn't know. 5 teenagers in his care, lost in an international airport, and he wasn't sure if he should stay behind.
These gate agents realized they had to steer him, or perhaps realized asking the question was the real mistake. He was going to have to stay.
Three teenagers start running to a gate two gates down. The dude tries to stop the kids and direct them onto his flight. They were not his kids. The runners had to shake him off and continue onto their flight. This horrible human didn't even know which kids were in his care. OMG
The crowd watching this loses it at this point. My own son has to vocalize that he cannot believe how unprepared and ignorant this man is, and he's feeling incredibly upset for all the kids involved.
More agonizing minutes go by. One bewildered teenage boy runs up, gets checked in. Another 90 seconds pass. A boy and a girl arrive, breathless, and board.
The two remaining names are called on repeat.
A total of 30 minutes have passed since the first time the gate closed. This horrible human continues to stand idly, not even scanning the crowd. He's told that they have to release the plane.
The last two blow in just as they are closing the gates a final time. They reopen and all three board.
I'm horrified, super stressed, and need a drink and it's 6am.
If you want to let your children travel with chaperones in a school group, think long and hard before signing up. I could have never have imagined a more cavalier, useless, or negligent "chaperone" team before this mornings experience. Those poor kids.
Update: I assumed the trip was organized by a school. I didn't know for sure. Perhaps it was a church group or a private school.
I want to also put in a strong endorsement for travel for children. However, with all things, use caution. I've traveled internationally as a child with a school group and it was spectacular and organized. It helped shape me and opened my eyes to a bigger world. I have long wanted the same for my kids but the opportunity hasn't come along yet, although domestic travel has come along and it's been great for them. Plans were laid out before hand, the chaperones were known, everyone went and came home safe and sound with only happy memories.
That said, my closing remarks in my post urge caution. I would not endorse sending your children for travel of any kind with people ill suited to the task, disorganized, unfamiliar with your child, and/or disinterested in being a chaperone.
#travel
source
I'm in the Dublin airport with my son. The group I'm about to describe is American, and it doesn't matter but so are we.
We are early and the flight ahead of us was just closing the gates. A group led by two men with about 10 kids age 12-17 run up. The agents tell them sorry, we just closed, but they persist and the gate agents relent, seeing all the kids. As they are scanning passports, two more kids run up. The agents are surprised, as are the two men leading the group.
It's chaos, but it all seems ok. The men in charge are already scanned in as the two stragglers get scanned. One group leader says to the other 'do we have them all? ... I don't think I've seen my kid.'
...
The gate agents are alarmed (as is the crowd waiting for the next flight, watching on), and the agent says 'who are you missing?' Neither guy knows, exactly. They are sure of at least one, one of their own children, maybe one more?
My eyes begin to pop out of my head. The guy with the missing kid goes 'can you tell us who we're missing?' To the gate agent. The agent has to literally sift through the manifest for minors. They check a few things and it turns out they are missing not one or two, but eight kids. EIGHT.
One kid arrives during this, looking bewildered and frazzled. He's all alone. The guys 'help' by shouting at the kid to hustle and board.
7 missing kids in an international airport. These men in charge of the kids have no clue what they are doing, and seem to think that it should be someone else's job to get these kids safely to the gate. I'm losing my mind just watching this unfold.
The chaperone men stand around right next to the gate agents, not even at a helpful location where they can bring kids in with a better line of sight, doing absolutely nothing. Some chatter emerges that suggests this is a connection flight.
The agents are squirming, hard, presumably realizing they made a big mistake letting this group partially board.
Two kids show up, also frazzled and stressed. These dudes yell at this pair just like the last kid to hustle and board.
5 still missing. At this point, the plane has been held up a long time past when the gates were already closed. The gate agents have to tell the men that one needs to go onboard with the group of children. Off goes one of the dudes.
More minutes pass. Names called over the loud speaker. No kids.
The gate agents ask the dude if he'll board, or stay behind if all don't show in the next 2 minutes because they need to pull his bag if he's not continuing. The guy didn't know. He didn't know. 5 teenagers in his care, lost in an international airport, and he wasn't sure if he should stay behind.
These gate agents realized they had to steer him, or perhaps realized asking the question was the real mistake. He was going to have to stay.
Three teenagers start running to a gate two gates down. The dude tries to stop the kids and direct them onto his flight. They were not his kids. The runners had to shake him off and continue onto their flight. This horrible human didn't even know which kids were in his care. OMG
The crowd watching this loses it at this point. My own son has to vocalize that he cannot believe how unprepared and ignorant this man is, and he's feeling incredibly upset for all the kids involved.
More agonizing minutes go by. One bewildered teenage boy runs up, gets checked in. Another 90 seconds pass. A boy and a girl arrive, breathless, and board.
The two remaining names are called on repeat.
A total of 30 minutes have passed since the first time the gate closed. This horrible human continues to stand idly, not even scanning the crowd. He's told that they have to release the plane.
The last two blow in just as they are closing the gates a final time. They reopen and all three board.
I'm horrified, super stressed, and need a drink and it's 6am.
If you want to let your children travel with chaperones in a school group, think long and hard before signing up. I could have never have imagined a more cavalier, useless, or negligent "chaperone" team before this mornings experience. Those poor kids.
Update: I assumed the trip was organized by a school. I didn't know for sure. Perhaps it was a church group or a private school.
I want to also put in a strong endorsement for travel for children. However, with all things, use caution. I've traveled internationally as a child with a school group and it was spectacular and organized. It helped shape me and opened my eyes to a bigger world. I have long wanted the same for my kids but the opportunity hasn't come along yet, although domestic travel has come along and it's been great for them. Plans were laid out before hand, the chaperones were known, everyone went and came home safe and sound with only happy memories.
That said, my closing remarks in my post urge caution. I would not endorse sending your children for travel of any kind with people ill suited to the task, disorganized, unfamiliar with your child, and/or disinterested in being a chaperone.
#travel
source
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