If You're Going to be Delayed

Nobody likes having their flights delayed. We are no exception. As I write this, I should be onboard a flight that took off from Florianopolis, Brazil and is heading toward Buenos Aires, Argentina. But, as you probably guessed, I am not.

The Bridge we stayed near, all lit up at night

Our flight as supposed to leave at 7:45 PM, Monday evening. When we arrived at the airport, we learned that it won't leave until 1:50 AM on Tuesday morning. That's over a six hour delay!

But I will say this: If you're going to be delayed, Brazil is a good place to do it. Many places now have Passengers' Rights, in which airlines have to give passengers various benefits if they are delayed by various times. Brazil has some of the strongest laws in this regard. And the airlines don't gripe or grouse. They just give it to us.

This cow is a gift from the staff of the Zurich Airport to the staff of the Florianopolis Airport. Did you know airport staffs (or is that staves) give gifts to each other?

With our delay, we were given a meal voucher. If the flight had waited until tomorrow, (meaning more tomorrow than 1:50 AM tomorrow but like 7 AM tomorrow), they would have had to get all the passengers hotels and cover transportation to and from the hotel.

We have rights to ask for a different flight (but there isn't another one that is earlier) or a full refund. We have a lot of rights.

Also, there are worse airports to be stuck in than Florianopolis. True this is not the high tourist season, so maybe that makes a difference, but the airport, while not huge, is also not crammed with people or loud. And the chairs are reasonably comfortable. And there is decent wifi which you can use for as long as you want.

We won't get to Buenos Aires until after 4 AM. We are, no doubt, going to be very tired. But life throws curveballs at you, and hopefully you don't strike out swinging. Or maybe it's better to strike out swinging than just watching the pitches go by. I'm losing this metaphor like an outfield trying to find a ball that's lost in the sun. But, desperately clinging to my baseball imagery, we will round the bases and get home. Home, in our life situation, is metaphoric too.