5 Simple Ways To Cope With Flight Delays

IT’S ANOTHER FLIGHT delay. Your life will not come to an end; in fact, it has been presented with an opportunity.

1. Find a kid

If you’re a fan of children this will work for you and endear you to some fellow passengers for being wonderful enough to distract their children for even a few minutes. More importantly – children nearly always travel with supplies. By this I mean crayons, markers, and things to color.

If you have not revisited the wonders of coloring as an adult I pity you and recommend you remedy this as soon as humanely possible. Now go on, find a kid and play.

2. Haiku

I am serious. Haikus are short, simple, and challenging as hell.

The best part? You need nothing but your brain. Vent your frustrations into these little three line gems.

Even better with company, the history of the haiku is filled with shared poetry, where friends would begin one piece and the next in line would continue and so on and so forth.

Pick a theme. Be raunchy. Be serious. Be ridiculous.

3. Talk

Really. Look around you, you’ll likely find someone as bored as you are. Go over and introduce yourself and never allow yourself to be deceived by appearances. At the very least, you can gripe together. Remember that everyone has a story; the trick is just to listen.

4. Walk

And walk some more. Sure you are tired, but get your blood moving and explore your environment.

How many hours are you going to be stuck in that plane seat anyway? Take this opportunity to be good to your body, enjoy a simple walk and smile at people you pass. It doesn’t matter if they look at you like you’re crazy. Someone who has had an even more wretched time in the airport than you will appreciate it.

5. Write a letter or two.

It’s old-fashioned and old school, but take this chance to think about the people in your life. The people you appreciate, but never get around to actually telling them that you do. No paper handy? Nab a few sturdy napkins. They’re amazingly versatile. It doesn’t matter on what you present your love, affection, and gratitude –it just matters that you do.

The funny thing about travel is that something always happens which is not according to plan. We are used to moving, moving, moving at such a pace that when we are slapped into stillness for some horribly “inconvenient” reason we are at a loss as to what to do with ourselves. Stop, take a deep breath in spite of your irritation and boredom, and enjoy these moments as a gift to get out of the constant motion of your travels.

Community Connection

What are your flight delay stories? Give us your superb, your appalling, your inspiring, your educational, your barely believable flight delay adventures. We know you’ve got ’em. Sound off below.