[Grandpa's Grumbles] Part 2: A Bitter Memory of a Flight Cancellation!?

(Grandchild) Grandpa, you told me before about how you worked hard using written notes when your flight was cancelled. You said you had other stories about failures in China, right?

(Grandpa) A promise is a promise. Let's talk about it.

(Grandchild) Yay! 😊

(Grandpa) That was the month after the business trip where I was cancelled at Beihai Airport in China and had to struggle with written notes—this time, it happened at Beijing Airport while I was flying from Narita to Beijing, and then from Beijing to Beihai.

(Grandchild) Oh, so this time it was Beijing Airport.

(Grandpa) Basically, at places called international airports, I really wanted there to be English announcements.

(Grandchild) I want to hear it, I want to hear it!

That happened at Beijing Airport in 2000.

I was scheduled to arrive at Beihai Airport in the evening on a flight from Narita to Beijing to Beihai.

It was a short business trip where I would stay in Beihai for two nights before returning home, so I was traveling light with only a carry-on bag that I took into the cabin.

Although I checked in for the local flight at Beijing Airport, I had no checked luggage, and at the time, I never imagined that would become a disadvantage.

My boarding pass had 'Gate 6' printed on it, so I confirmed the flight number and the destination 'Beihai' at Gate 6, and without a single doubt, I felt relieved and waited while reading a book.

Naturally, since it was a local flight, there were announcements in Chinese but none in English, and at the time, I never thought there was a risk that I wouldn't notice if the gate had been changed.

As expected, there were very few passengers gathering around Gate 6, and I felt a little uneasy, thinking, 'Surely there aren't so few passengers that it's going to be cancelled, right?' But since the flight number and the destination 'Beihai' on the gate display matched my boarding pass, I thought, 'Maybe this happens 30 minutes before departure?' and kept waiting.

By 15 minutes before departure, there were still too few passengers, so I became anxious and rolled my carry-on bag over to a large electronic display board a little further away to check.

'What? No way! It's changed to Gate 34!'

I looked at my watch and it was 10 minutes before departure, so I frantically dragged my carry-on bag and ran, and ran.

The thing is, Beijing Airport is 'huge'.

The distance from Gate 6 to Gate 34 felt like it was about 1km away, and I was sprinting with all my might, panting and gasping, wondering if I had ever run that desperately in recent times.

You know how at children's sports days, parents often trip over their own feet during the footrace and fall, or snap an Achilles tendon?

Well, I tripped over my own feet and fell. When I looked at my knee, it was scraped and bleeding.

But since the departure time was approaching, I desperately made my way to Gate 34, panting and gasping for air, while still bleeding.

I handed over my boarding pass, saying, 'Five minutes to spare, just made it,' only to be told, 'It's gone.' I looked out, and the plane was already far off on the runway.

As expected of Beijing Airport, they actually have staff at the gate who can speak English, right?

'This is ridiculous. You changed it to Gate 34 without notice, and even though I'm here five minutes early, you're already leaving?'

'We made an announcement, but you did not come.'

'The sign at Gate 6 was still showing the original information.'

'Since you had no checked luggage and did not respond to our calls, we departed.'

'It's five minutes before departure!'

'We were on time. We will change your flight to the same time tomorrow, so please spend the night in Beijing.'

(Grandchild) That sounds rough, Grandpa. But isn't this actually your fault?

(Grandpa) But it was five minutes before departure, you know.

(Grandchild) So it turns out you were the one who caused the cancellation, then.

(Grandpa) You've got a way with words. But since I had rented a mobile phone capable of international calls in Narita for my business trip, it was fortunate that I could contact my office in Japan immediately this time. I was also able to quickly inform the local people in Beihai that my schedule would be delayed by a day; the power of a phone that can make international calls was outstanding.

(Grandchild) So, what did you do that day?

(Grandpa) I received my ticket for the next day's flight and stayed put in the hotel the airline had booked for me. Since I didn't speak the language, I didn't feel like wandering around, so I was basically stuck in the hotel. Even when I turned on the TV, I couldn't understand anything because I didn't know Chinese, and I finished the book I brought with me right away, so it was an incredibly boring day.

(Grandchild) It's important to be able to communicate, isn't it?

(Grandpa) Since then, I've made it a habit to check the electronic display boards frequently when I don't understand the language, so even though I've had my gate changed a few more times in Beijing since then, I've been fine every time.

(Grandchild) You've learned your lesson, haven't you, Grandpa!?

Thank you for reading until the end.

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