Boise Man No Longer Stranded at Airport Amid Flight Chaos

As reported last week by a local news broadcast that airs on a Boise television channel, a Boise man was stranded in Atlanta, Georgia after massive flight chaos going on in Boise. 

Hello, I'm the "Boise man" and I'm happy to report that finally, I'm home.

Between freezing cold temperatures, an increase in snow, and an uptick in COVID-19 cases due to this new variant--yes, I along with hundreds if not thousands of Idahoan's had a near-impossible time returning home to Boise.

The travel chaos, for me, began in Paris, France where I had my first of a few layovers after the holidays. My plane into the United States had a mechanical issue and it was NOT going to be flying out--yes, an entire international flight needed to be re-routed. The good folks at Air France saved ME for last because most people were going into major cities--the agent laughed when I said I was going to Boise--"oh, I can't get you there" he said.

With COVID-19 cases going up, a new and unfamiliar variant gaining strength, and being several time zones ahead of home--I begged to just get into the United States. That's what led me to Atlanta.

For three days, I had no boarding pass--no flight options in sight--and was simply told to "check back every two-hours" and in the Atlanta airport, that just meant going back to the line. It was disorganized, stressful, and a total mess. Three days later, I was able to secure a seat via standby status--two days earlier than expected, by the way--and return home.

While my travel woes are really nothing for you to lose sleep over, I'm most happy to share that I'm back.

More importantly, after speaking with TONS of different airline workers over the past several days, they all shared in one common frustration: this new COVID-19 variant is no joke and their colleagues REALLY WERE down with COVID, making a total mess of increased, holiday travel.

If there's one thing I learned--as if I didn't know this already--it's that people can be very impatient, very rude, and very selfish. If you're shopping, traveling, or just dining out these days, please remember that the world is just a little short-staffed right now and those that are in there, working to help us, deserve our appreciation--not our attitudes.