TRAVEL SERIES
A Short Meeting With A Friend At The Airport Ended In A Surprising Flight
When you are going to travel, you will book a ticket, maybe also a hotel, then you pack your luggage and go. But it doesn’t always work like this.
Some years ago, unprepared, I boarded an airplane to fly to a strange city without knowing it before.
It was an ordinary Saturday in summer. At noon, the sun hung lazily in the sky. Nothing was unusual.
I went to the airport to meet a friend.
Sharon and her three children -the eldest one was 3 years old and the twins were under two — arrived in Canada on that day. They would change their flight in my city. Therefore, she had a little time before boarding another plane.
We were old friends and haven’t seen each other for many years. So we decided to meet at the airport briefly.
In the flow of arriving passengers, I caught Sharon and her children at the first glance. She was just pushing a two-seater stroller laboriously, while an airport staff helped her by pushing a cart with a boy in it.
Sharon looked very tired, but with joy. From her country to Canada, she already made two transfers. The entire travel time was more than 15 hours. It must be a hard journey with three little kids in tow.
Time flew by very fast, it seemed that we just sat down in a café and it was about time for boarding.
I accompanied them to the gate to say goodbye. Then something unexpected happened.
As the lady at the entrance noticed that Sharon would carry three kids alone, she stopped them from boarding.
According to Canadian aviation regulations, it’s forbidden, that infants (babies under two) sit alone during flying, they must be held by adults throughout the whole trip.
We all got startled when we heard this.
“Why did the airline in your country allow you to board? And how did you take care of three kids on the plane just by yourself?”
“The passengers next to me helped me a lot. They took turns to hold my baby.”
