On Saturday, July 14th, I would embark on a journey of a lifetime to Sydney, Australia,...
or so I thought. Before arriving at the airport, my plane to Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas (DFW), was
delayed by half an hour. At that time, I shrugged off the delayed notification and headed to the
airport. Upon arriving, I discovered that my flight had once again been delayed. After I learned
that, I began to question whether or not my four-hour layover at DFW would suffice. As I
patiently and nervously waited in the airport, my flight to Texas continued to be delayed due to
“mechanical problems.” However, American Airlines assured me that I would make my
connection at DFW. After the seventh delay, it was evident that I would not be able to make my
connection. Since I did not want to be stranded at DFW, American Airlines re-booked me for the
next day’s flight. As a result, I headed home and notified the university that my arrival would be
delayed by a day.
Following a good night’s rest, I returned to the airport. Thankfully my flight to DFW was
on time and did not get delayed. Once the wheels were off the ground in Louisville, I thought my
journey was finally taking off. After arriving in Texas, I had an eight-hour layover. As the time
neared for the boarding process to begin, Qantas delayed our flight by two hours. Our two-hour
delay turned into four hours and then six hours. Finally, the crew announced at 3 a.m. that the
plane was unable to take off due to a “sophisticated mechanical problem.” As a result, Qantas
placed all of the passengers in a nearby hotel. By the time I received my checked luggage and
arrived at the hotel, it was already 6 a.m.. I was so exhausted after spending 14 hours sitting in
the airport.
Our flight from DFW to SYD was re-scheduled to depart Monday night at 11:50 p.m.
Therefore, I spent most of my day recuperating in my hotel room. Thankfully Qantas gave all of
the passengers meal vouchers to use at the hotel’s restaurant. For lunch, I had a delicious
hamburger and fries. For dinner, I ordered the filet mignon and it was impeccable.
After finishing dinner, we shuttled back to DFW, checked our luggage and headed through
security to our gate. Prior to our scheduled boarding, I made some last minute phone calls to
friends and family only to find out that my flight had once again been delayed until 1:30 a.m..
After waiting and waiting, Qantas canceled our flight for the second night. Off we went back to
the baggage claim, onto a shuttle, and back to our same hotel rooms.
As an individual who always says, “everything happens for a reason,” I could not figure
out why all of this misfortune kept occurring. I felt as if I was reliving the same day over and
over. After the flight was canceled, for the second night, I began conversing with other
passengers from the flight. I learned that one was a student who was trying to get to the
University of Perth for his study abroad. I also met two women who had already become friends
over the course of the past two days; one was from the U.S., and one was an Australian native.
While we waited over an hour to receive our luggage, the four of us became friends, and we
decided to have breakfast and lunch together the next day. It was so nice to have a group of
friendly faces around, especially when you are traveling alone. We had a blast as a group, and I
am incredibly thankful to have met them. If I had made my connection the first day, I would
have never met my “airport family”.
On the third day of being stranded, Qantas had no choice other than to fly another plane
to DFW. The flight finally departed DFW at 9:50 p.m. on Tuesday. After a 17.5 hour flight, I had
finally made it to Sydney, Australia. Yes, I may have been four days late and missed most of my
orientation, but the friends and memories we created will last a lifetime.
