It is said that time ticks time and time again and that time waits for no man. True talk, therefore every serious-minded person will naturally hate to be delayed or kept moments behind their regular schedule on account of any type of failure. The same applies to delays in flights and all things related to air travel. There are times when unforeseen circumstances force the closure of an airport’s normal activities or when the airport authorities themselves decide to put a flight on hold because of a safety or security threat. Any time this sort of thing happens, the airport, airline and many passengers end up with some form of loss; even loss of composure is also a loss isn’t it? The airline usually stands to lose more though because it leaves the customer with a negative impression of the company that may make them decide never to fly with that airline.

Flight delays also have direct consequences on passengers especially those who have to meet a specific deadline in the office, or have some form of appointment to keep. They are tense and unwanted situations that often leave passengers frustrated and for the impatient, they could go extra lengths like harassing or ranting at airport and airline Staff who are on duty even if it is not their making. Of course no one wants to encounter such a harrowing experience like a flight delay but sometimes it becomes inevitable as there are so many factors that could cause flight delays. Therefore in uncertain situations like flight delays, the best thing to do is to make a case before the airline’s top Management Staff about some compensation if there can’t be another flight to take the place of theirs. There must be a fair share of losses between all parties to strike a balance.

As stated earlier, flight delays are sometimes unavoidable and inevitable. For example when there is a safety threat where it is suddenly discovered that there is a fuel leakage from the aircraft’s engines, or that the cabin’s cooling system has begun to malfunction just like that; then you know for sure that no-one will dare fly that aircraft even as a test. If there seems to be a form of unreliable part of an aircraft, being an airborne machine with carries a high level of risk in times of accidents, then the safest measure to take is not to embark on the flight in the first place. Non-human factors also have a part in flight delays with rain, snow, storms, fog or lightening as uncontrollable but avoidable weather factors that can happen at any time. When it becomes too foggy or stormy for a pilot to see, then the control tower advises against a flight taking off for some time until the situation subsides.

In another instance, the reason why flights might be delayed for minutes, hours or even a day is the threat to the security and lives of passengers either on the ground or airborne; then no-one needs to tell authorities to shut down some routes, airport operations or even all. It all depends on the type and magnitude of the threat. A case in point is the attempted airport bombing of London Heathrow in August 2006 where more than a thousand people were estimated to be victims of the failed attempt. Several flights had to be cancelled while incoming flights from dozens of airports around the world had to be delayed for days. The high number of flights that were delayed can be attributed to Heathrow Airport’s status as the world’s busiest airport.

There are certain things that could be done to help ease situations when flights are delayed and there are no immediate alternatives available to passengers especially when airfares have been paid and luggage made ready for the trip. Dialogue and consensus remains the best way to resolve such issues as nothing can be done to remedy a very hopeless occurrence like a flight being cancelled. Unless a flight is delayed for a few minutes or hours, in which case the passenger could exercise some patience until a way out is found, then there is really nothing to fret or get fidgety about. After all, safety and security standards are of utmost importance as they border on lives and property, than failed appointments. Better late than being “The Late”!