ET302: How a Flight Delay can change your Life!

Running an airline is hard. As a passenger and an aviation enthusiast, I want airlines to be profitable. And, without increasing the fares. This is possible only when airlines run a tight (air)ship.

Unfortunately, it means at times your flights get delayed. And if you aren’t traveling non-stop, it may also mean you can miss your connecting flight.

We have all been there. Many of us (myself included) have lost our tempers and said things which we probably shouldn’t have. We had business meetings to attend, loved ones to meet and other ‘important’ stuff.

However, the story I am about to tell you will make that temper tantrum look meaningless. The story of a flight delay that saved someone’s life.

Meet Ahmed Khalid, a Dubai resident. On March 10, 2019, he was scheduled to take Ethiopian Flight 601 from Dubai to Addis Ababa and an onward connection to Nairobi on the ill-fated flight ET302.

Ahmed’s father Khalid Ali Abdulrahman was waiting for his son at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, and feared the worst when a security official told him the plane had crashed.

“I arrived here shortly after 10am, and as I waited, a security person approached me and asked me which flight are you waiting for,” Khalid told the press.

“I answered him quickly because I wanted him to direct me to the arrivals, so I told him Ethiopia, and then he said: ‘Sorry, that one has crashed.’”

However, destiny had other plans for Ahmed. ET601 got delayed by 40 minutes which meant he couldn’t reach Addis Ababa on time to catch ET302 to Nairobi.

Ahmed called his father shortly after, but those few minutes must have been the longest for him.

For others at Nairobi airport, the story was very different.

The nearby Sheraton Hotel became a reception space for the grieving.

I didn’t know Ahmed, yet this story feels personal. I will certainly remember this the next time my flight gets delayed.