The Hub October 2022

Time to fly.

By: Dave Scott

Remember that day, a few months ago, when the Rogers network went down all across the country? Well, I was at the Lester B. Pearson airport terminal that day. I have got to tell you it was very interesting! The flight board was as red as a ripe Norfolk tomato, with delayed and cancelled flights falling like Rogers stock that day! In some corners of the terminal, you could sense tension rising faster than the humidity outside.

There were long lines at the customer service desk as folks tried to gather information about their flights and how long the delays would be.

I realised there was nothing I could do. My flight kept getting delayed, so I thought this was a great day for people-watching, and grabbed some lunch! As I sat there eating, I realized all the background noise in the restaurant came from folks talking to one another. They had no cell service, so they were forced to talk face to face! What a concept.

Mind you, the most common question was, "Do you have cell service yet?" People were chatting away with the servers and turning to complete strangers and striking up a conversation. Maybe as a society we still have a chance.

Another bizarre thing I saw that day was a group of folks waiting in front of the closed glass door to their flight boarding area, even after they had been told it was delayed for two hours. They were standing silent with no cell reception, looking ahead, all wearing the required mask. I am talking about a group of at least two hundred people standing and staring like "cows at a passing train," Don Henly.

I decided to grab a coffee. (Sorry, I will not stand and look at a glass door. Thank goodness I have

a short attention span!) While in line for coffee, three young women walked by without a mask on. I could hear the customs agent behind me sigh and then politely ask the women to put their masks on while at the airport. They did.

Quietly, I asked the agent how many times a day he had to say that. His tired eyes looked up at me as he said, "Every flight from New York, we have to remind the folks they are in Canada now."

I asked him how life at the airport had been over the last two years. He chuckled and said, "You wouldn’t believe some of the stories." He shared that he goes home at night and tells his wife some of the antics and she doesn't believe him.

I asked him to tell me one, and he replied, "Well, just last week, a guy wanted to take his machete on a plane. He was upset when we said no and began to refuse to listen… a machete!!!" He explained that in the last few years, people's perception of right and wrong has changed at the airport and has made all facets of all airport employees' jobs a little more strenuous.

At the far end of the terminal, I passed the three girls again, their masks pulled down! They really didn’t care what the agent said. Soon enough, he would see them and repeat the same conversation. Sad, you know, no one wants to wear a mask, but with so many people connecting from all over the world in one spot, perhaps we need to protect the folks who work day in and day out at the airport for us!

Hey, they are calling my flight… time to go.