Gate Agent Sings Christmas Carols To Passengers After Flight Delay To Lift Their Spirits
Amidst the hustle and bustle of the holidays, we often forget what the season of giving is really about.
LightField Studios | Shutterstock It’s the most wonderful time of the year — unless you plan to travel, then it is perhaps the most stressful time. With icy conditions, frequent flight delays, and overcrowded airports, many travelers find it difficult to get into the holiday spirit.
Following one recent flight delay at a New York airport, a festive gate agent attempted to shift the mood and remind frustrated passengers what the holidays are truly about.
The gate agent sang Christmas carols to passengers to lift their spirits after their flight was delayed.
Passenger Anna Beth Riggs expected to be in the air by at least 6:30 a.m. along with her fellow passengers. However, she awoke 90 minutes later to discover that the aircraft was still on the runway due to frozen pipes. The flight crew had no choice but to deplane everyone on board until another plane was available.
As the exhausted and likely annoyed passengers waited in the gate area, one gate agent decided to lift their spirits with a personal holiday concert!
The woman grabbed the mic and began singing some classic holiday Christmas tunes over the intercom. No matter how exhausted the passengers were, they had to admit, she had quite the voice!
A few of them could not help but smile as the gate agent sang some of their favorite festive tunes. She even invited passengers to take the podium and sing themselves (which one passenger gladly accepted!)
Remember, we are all just trying to make it through the hustle and bustle of the holidays — even gate agents and flight attendants.
As plane passengers, it's easy to focus on our own stress and feelings of fatigue when our flights are delayed, especially when we're trying to make it home to our families for the holidays. However, we tend to overlook the stress the gate agents are most certainly under.
They are blamed for anything wrong, from mechanical failures to crying babies on flights. They are often the first people frustrated passengers encounter and take the brunt of their anger because of it.
Tyler Olson | Shutterstock
Ramsey Qubein, a "hardcore Delta flyer," went behind the gate podium at the world’s busiest airport, Atlanta Hartsfield, to experience the unseen difficulties of a gate agent’s job.
“Gate agents are tasked with driving the Jetway, opening the door, arranging for wheelchairs and unaccompanied minors, directing passengers to connecting gates, clearing standbys, checking the new crew, boarding new passengers, gate checking bags, closing the door, and pulling the Jetway all within about an hour per flight,” Qubein detailed in a blog article.
“In between, they must answer endless questions," he continued. "I was shocked when people approached my clearly marked gate to ask if this was the gate for some other city. Or asked me to look up their gate rather than check the information screens a few feet away.”
He also learned that you can be as efficient as possible, but one mistake “causes the house of cards to crumble.” When mistakes occur, even if they are out of the gate agent's control, passengers put all the blame on them.
So, even if you are annoyed by flight delays and overstimulated by the crowded airport, keep in mind that the gate agents are not at fault. They are likely overwhelmed too. Show them some compassion and grace, especially during the holiday season.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.