Jet, Set… Sunny!
…As we left the client office on
Friday evening to catch a 6.45 flight to civilization, the clock had already
struck 6.00. We were anxious that we might miss our flight. However, an
unusually tranquil car ride in the Tata Winger (which, by the way, banged into
an auto rickshaw this morning!) ensured that we reached the airport just in
time.
The airlines, however, had
wrongly anticipated that we would take a little longer and, hence, had delayed
the flight by 45 minutes. Well… Chatty and one of the interns went off for a
quick smoke while the others decided to indulge in the, rather, abundantly available
delicacy in Ahmedabad – an ice cream. Finally we all entered the airport,
checked-in, and parked ourselves in front of gate number A2. Since there was
still no sign of a boarding announcement, we, as usual, started
discussing…well… some important stuff.
Anyway… while we were deeply
involved in our intense discussion, people around us just presumed that we were
already a part of some line… and in a rare display of civility (or a usual
display of herd mentality…) formed a long line behind us! …unintended…but well…
‘Bazinga!’… J …We laughed heartily
and it helped us get away from the frustration that had started to build up by
now. I mean, come on! Friday evening on the airport of a dry state… while
working for Booz (pun unintended). The irony is never lost on any of us.
Well… slowly the minutes started
turning into hours and there was still no communication from the airline. The
mob started to get restless. Then, from somewhere, news leaked that passengers
for the 3.00 p.m. Jet flight to Mumbai were sent off on our plane because their
plane had had a technical problem. Now everyone started questioning the ground
staff. Tempers started running high. When people realized that there was no
solution but to wait, we decided that it was best if we were put in the next
flight at 9.45 p.m. and people who had booked that flight asked to wait for the
technical fault to be resolved.
The airport was crewless…
everyone was clueless…. When the manager (who, by the way, had been up since
4.00 a.m.) finally turned up, he could offer no solution at all. By now, the
mob was very irritated. People were yelling, and pointing fists, and yelling
some more... A couple of us too joined the bandwagon and vented some of our
frustration on the manager. Then someone came up with a radical idea.
“We shalt not let anyone board a
Jet Airways plane. We shall block the boarding gates… Jet ke dono planes ab
saath hi udenge”
They threatened to call the
police. We threatened to call the media. There were babies crying, women
yelling, men shouting, dogs barking… Ok! There were no dogs. But you get the
idea, right. There was pandemonium. As soon as boarding was announced for the
9.45 flight, everyone rushed towards the boarding gate downstairs and
barricaded the entry. Angry words were exchanged between the mob and the Jet
Airways personnel. One of the Jet employees, in panic, asked the CISF to take
“action” against the angry junta. This triggered people to actually move
on to desi style gaali-galauch.
Amidst all this drama, someone
pointed towards the security check area and shouted, “John Abraham!” All eyes
turned towards that side. It was, indeed, John Abraham accompanied by Sophie
Choudhary (of Baby Doll fame) and, none other than our very own Sunny Leone!
The focus of the mob shifted
completely and people started clicking pictures of the stars. There were still
a few who were in protest mode and one of these gentlemen suddenly shouted
“shame shame” in as many words. John took this rather personally and walked up
to this gentleman, asking him for an explanation. What followed was a classic
Bollywood hero style apology to the public, and the end of which he moved on to
board his ‘on-time’ flight. Sunny and Sophie were just too confused.
Our people, however, had given up
by now. Most of us were feeling mixed emotions. The frustration of waiting at
an airport on a Friday night could only have been alleviated by a chance
encounter with Sunny Leone. We believe it was Fate! We were destined to meet!
The drama, however, was still on.
The technical fault, it seemed, had been resolved. People started forming a
line again in front of Gate A2. Our team went back to its usual (slightly
enhanced) enthusiasm. One of the interns was basking in the glory of his
triumph (He had taken a close up picture of Sunny Leone – HD quality). He was
showing off his photography skills to the team when a random stranger butted
into the discussion, “Arre ye pic kya dekh rahe ho, mere paas ye waali hai”…
Since this piece is for family entertainment purposes, we shalt say no more… I
am not sure if it was a memorable experience but it was, indeed, unforgettable.
Finally the 6.45 p.m. flight took off at midnight!!...
“Sunny
Leone ek soch hai”, quipped a senior member of our team, who wishes to
remain anonymous.This Friday, we set out for our journey from Ahmedabad to Mumbai. Little did we know that we will be stranded on the airport for close to 6 hours.
|
Scheduled Departure Time
|
Actual Departure Time
|
From
|
To
|
|
15:35
|
18:45
|
Ahmedabad
|
Mumbai
|
|
18:45
|
23:55
|
Ahmedabad
|
Mumbai
|
|
21:55
|
21:55
|
Ahmedabad
|
Mumbai
|
Source: JetKonnect
website
Basically the
The cast of Shootout at Wadala was in Ahmedabad (most probably for promotion). We ran into them last Friday as we awaited our flight to take off. Here are some pictures of the celebrities.
Security check
A co-passenger explaining our plight to the hero, hoping for his intervention
Unmindful of the commotion, the lady of the hour passed by. The 3rd picture in the series below captures someone on the left intently trying to capture her. Note that their flight boarding gate was on the ground floor itself, but due to the commotion, they probably just started going upstairs.
John trying to understand the airlines point of view on the matter. While the ladies return back and proceed to the correct boarding gate.
John tries to leave, when people start asking him frantically to not board his flight as a mark of protest. He gently says that he would have done that but as he has an old professor travelling with him, he will not be able to do so. He asks the people to forgive him if they feel that their plight is due to him.
After the cast left, one of the senior members
just couldn’t stop praising Sunny Deol, much to the shock and dismay of other
members.
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