Boarding passes. What even are they? A bite size piece of card which allows you to board a plane.
Invaluable, some might say. Replaceable, that's what I thought.
No. In actual fact, they are probably the most important item you will take onto the plane. I found that out the hard way, when I 'accidentally' lost my boyfriend's boarding pass before getting on the plane.
And when I say accidentally, I mean knock it out of his hand and watch, as it slipped down an unreachable gap.
We were in Prague. We had spent the weekend there.
Time in the airport had dragged.The airport was small. It felt like a ghost town, dotted with expensive shops full of over-priced items I could never afford.
It was time to get on the plane, finally.
My boyfriend and I had been waiting for nearly four hours, we'd reached that silly stage - you know, when you're so fidgety, you have no option other than giggling.
We were in that tube, that connects the airport to the plane. We were metres - maybe 10, or so, from the door - and we started play fighting.
In hindsight, not such a good idea.
Especially when I knocked his passport out of his hand. His passport, which enclosed his boarding pass.
I had planned it in my head, I thought it would be hilarious - him scuffling about trying to pick up his passport. It wasn't hilarious. It was anything but. Especially when we tried to get on the plane.
"I'm sorry, I can't let you on the plane," said the air hostess.
Right. Now what?
This is the awful part: I was allowed to take my seat, it my boyfriend who wasn't allowed on the plane. So despite me being the cause for the disruption, I took my seat. He waited, embarrassed, at the front of the plane.
Eventually he was allowed to sit down.
"Just this one time but don't do it again," said the air hostess.
Phew. Not phew.
The pilot refused to fly until he could confirm my boyfriend was allowed on the plane.
"I'm sorry for the delay," he said. "It's been caused by a lost piece of paperwork which is out of our control."
By this time, we had both sat down. We had no option but to join in with our fellow moaning passengers, who had no idea we were the cause of the delay.
One hour later, the doors of the plane closed and I could relax.
We arrived, at a later time. But still, we arrived.
So today's opinion is probably more advice.
Never lose your boarding pass.
And to those who were on the plane, apologies for the delay - the lesson has been learnt.
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