I Nearly Missed My Flight And Forgot How to Navigate an Airport

I’m a fairly experienced traveller and can usually find my way around an airport. This is especially the case in a place like Frankfurt Airport, where I’ve visited more than 20 times and speak the local language. But on a recent visit, things didn’t quite go to plan.

Stressed that I was about to miss an important flight, I’m embarrassed to admit that I stopped thinking rationally for a little while. This is not something that happens to me often. I felt like a total novice rather than a frequent flyer as I ran through the airport in a state of panic.

It all started with a delayed train to the airport

I wasn’t staying too far from the airport. Since the trip from the airport to my hotel had only taken 20 minutes, I assumed it would be the same on the way back and left it relatively late to check out of my hotel. That was my first mistake.

Despite the German efficiency myth, trains in Germany are not always on time. In fact, most Germans have become well acquainted with Deutsche Bahn’s regular delays and cancellations. Sure enough, my train was delayed. I should have taken an earlier one – that was my second mistake.

I would now arrive at the airport quite late. But I figured I would still have just enough time to check in for my flight before the cutoff time.

My third and most embarrassing mistake is that I forgot to check which terminal my flight was departing from.

Most of my past flights from Frankfurt Airport have left from Terminal 1, which is right near the airport train station. On this occasion, however, I was flying with a different airline and had just assumed my flight would depart from Terminal 1 (the main Lufthansa terminal) because this airline codeshares with Lufthansa. That’s a silly assumption, and as it happens, was a wrong one.

I was in the wrong terminal

A sinking feeling set in as I realised I’d need to get to Terminal 2 – and fast. I knew there was a “Sky Line” train at Frankfurt that goes to the other terminal, so walked the entire length of Terminal 1 looking for the station. After wasting five minutes, I found a small sign saying that the Sky Line was temporarily out of order and that I would need to take a shuttle bus. (No wonder I couldn’t find any signs to the station…)

At this point, the panic really started to set in as I realised I was probably about to miss my flight. I went looking for the bus stop but was in such a rush that I think I somehow forgot how to read airport signs. I probably used the least direct route possible to the bus stop, and arrived just as a bus was leaving. In hindsight, I probably would have made that bus if I was in less of a rush.

I had to wait ten minutes for the next bus and the drive seemed to take an eternity. Every time that bus stopped at a red traffic light, I was contemplating what would happen if I missed my flight. It was the first leg of a long Business Class trip back to Australia during peak season, so being a “no-show” for my flight would have been an expensive exercise.

I do of course have travel insurance. But if I missed that flight, it would have been my own fault. So I doubt my insurance would cover anything.

I arrived at Terminal 2

The bus finally pulled up outside Terminal 2. I should have taken a few moments to check the signs for directions to the relevant check-in counter. Instead, I saw some check-in counters and just ran towards them. Unfortunately, there are two separate check-in areas at Frankfurt’s Terminal 2 and I’d picked the wrong one. I then wasted even more time backtracking.

When I eventually arrived at my airline’s check-in desks, three out of five counters had already closed. The staff member at the fourth counter had just finished packing up their things and was also leaving. There was one last check-in counter still open, but being now so close to departure, I wasn’t sure if the airline would even accept me (or my checked baggage) onto the flight.

Meanwhile, the solo remaining check-in agent was engaged in conversation with a family that wasn’t even flying with that airline. The family was lost and she was giving them directions – something I probably should have stopped to ask for a while ago.

Once the family was on their way, the staff member did let me check in for my flight. Phew! But it was a close call. Too close for comfort.

Still in a fluster, I then forgot which gate my flight was leaving from and tried to enter the airside area through the wrong security checkpoint. Luckily, the electronic gate picked up on my error and didn’t let me through.

At this point, I decided it was probably a good idea to stop rushing and took a few moments to recalibrate.

What did I learn from this experience?

I’m usually a calm person and finding my way around an airport comes second nature to me. But if this can happen to me, I can see how an inexperienced traveller could quickly become overwhelmed in an airport they’re unfamiliar with – especially when things don’t go to plan.

This was a good reminder that travel can be stressful. Airports can cause normal people to forget how to think rationally. I’ll try to be a bit more patient in future with fellow travellers who are confused or need a bit of help.

Of course, nothing ever excuses rude or aggressive behaviour. Even if I had missed my flight, I promised myself that I would remain polite and not raise my voice. I may have forgotten how to read airport signs for a moment, but I had enough sense left to know that my own lateness is not the fault of airline staff. In fact, if anything, the airline staff would be the people in the best position to help me.

And of course, in future, I’ll double-check which terminal my flight departs from and allow enough time for unexpected delays en-route to the airport. You know what they say about assuming! I’d rather spend a bit of extra time in an airport lounge than raise my blood pressure like that again.

Has something like this happened to you? Share your stories with the AFF community in the comments…

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 70 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.