Cancellation. No thanks.

One of the things I sincerely dislike the most in life is airplane delays or cancellations. I do intellectually understand that it doesn’t happen very often and that it is sometimes unavoidable – but the damage it causes to us, the travellers, is enormous.

What I really dislike is the attitude from the airlines when it happens. Too often te airline becomes another type of company when these crises happend.

Suddenly the service is gone. The smile is replaced by lack of information, references to rules, or sometimes – like this time – even by rudeness. I am stuck in Brussels on my way to an important event in China, which I have prepared for months.

It doesn’t really help being asked to wait for hours in a telephone queue. Then being neglected or ignored.

Even though I have travelled more than most people in my days I never learn to handle this situation with grace. I just get frustrated, angry and very sad over the way airlines treat their long-term customers when something goes wrong.