I felt a bit odd as I watched the latest series of smash-hit horror fantasy, Stranger Things, on Netflix.
That’s not unusual, as I don’t really have a clue what is going on, but – as with the similarly confusing Game of Thrones – it’s great to look at.
One scene in particular grabbed my attention.
Our intrepid young heroes had stepped, once more, through a supernatural gateway – created by secret government experiments – into a terrifying parallel universe. Soon, they were fighting off flying dinosaur-like creatures which were attacking them.
The mayhem reminded me instantly of a scene I had witnessed at Aberdeen beach that very morning.
We were outside a cafe, about to tuck into bacon rolls and coffee, when the air was filled with shrieks from a neighbouring table. Chairs toppled over as a family leaped to their feet while being roughed up by a marauding gang of gulls, scavenging for food.
To our horror, one gull was clinging to something which resembled a large, detached ear as it took off again. They were fighting over it.
To our relief, as the chief winged bandit flapped past, we could see it was only carrying a Danish pastry.
Staff distributed guns among us; not real guns, but spray bottles filled with water, to fend off further gull attacks. Personally, I couldn’t see how tough old sea birds bashed by waves would be put off by a squirt of water, but I didn’t test my theory.
There were plenty of holidaymakers around, but they seemed to enjoy this slice of British eccentricity. The victims resumed their breakfast and the cafe enjoyed a brisk trade.
Who will protect us from corporate pickpockets?
Yes, chaos in the air can strike from many directions.
Air travellers were raring to go again, but crushed by incompetence and wishful thinking from reckless airlines over doomed flight schedules.
We are all being knocked from pillar to post – by airlines, energy companies, and petrol and diesel retailers
Airport hell has exposed how some airlines have virtually taken money under false pretenses, knowing they couldn’t deliver their part of the bargain, or oblivious to the disaster which lay ahead. Either way, it was shameful and inexcusable.
The boss of EasyJet hoped a new initiative would take off, even if his jets didn’t: he launched “pre-emptive cancellations”. He’d cancel your flight now, rather than at the last minute, a few weeks ahead. Very thoughtful of him.
It’s like a matador telling a bull that, instead of killing him in a bullring a few weeks down the line, he’ll put him out of his misery immediately. Does that make the bull feel any better?
I doubt if broken-hearted families do, either.
Airline apologies are of little consequence or worthy of sympathy for ordinary people like us, whose holiday dreams, rekindled from the ashes of Covid as normal life was resurrected, were so cynically and cruelly shattered.
We are all being knocked from pillar to post – by airlines, energy companies, and petrol and diesel retailers. Who is going to protect us from these corporate pickpockets who profit from our helplessness?
Why can’t Westminster or Holyrood punish industries which destroy public trust?
Ministers are quite adept at pushing ordinary people around. Like Nicola Sturgeon threatening fines for those ensnared in the Scottish Government’s bungling, as it bullied everyone to fill in census forms and buy expensive new fire and smoke alarms. We are soft targets, you see.
Airlines are trampling over passenger rights
Many airlines have always been like this: a law unto themselves. Quick to flog a ticket, but shocking at customer service.
We all have personal tales. Here’s mine: British Airways lost one of our cases when we flew to the Far East. It was left behind at Heathrow, and we were only reunited a week later.
In the meantime, we incurred modest expenses to replace items we couldn’t do without.
BA refused bluntly to reimburse us for their own incompetence, despite several appeals. They told us to take it up with our travel insurers; I didn’t bother, because I objected to our premium increasing to cover BA’s uselessness.
We were lucky enough to make a similar trip about 18 months later, but made a point of going with a different airline. It deprived BA of an extra £3,000, when all we had been asking for was under £200.
As I wrote this, a consumer protection champion was warning MPs of how airlines historically and currently trampled over passengers’ rights, in a damning attack. Is this the final straw for cowboy airlines?
At our flight cancellations session on Tuesday, @WhichUK criticised the Civil Aviation Authority’s shortcomings in taking action against airlines for breaches of consumer protection laws.
Sue Davies also said the Govt should bolster @UK_CAA’s enforcement powers.
Watch here 👇 pic.twitter.com/b8XGQkT3RD
— Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee (@CommonsBEIS) June 16, 2022
I bet Westminster would be quicker off the mark if it was flights to Rwanda.
While looking aghast at airport chaos the other day, a message popped up on my mobile from Jet2. It reminded us that our flight to the Canaries was just 91 days away, and we had ordered beef casserole on board.
It was cosy and reassuring; maybe we’ll actually take off.
Stranger things have happened.
David Knight is the long-serving former deputy editor of The Press and Journal
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