This story is based on an interview with Vanessa Santos, 43, a business consultant for female founders from Phoenix. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I got a message on the app that my 1:45 p.m. Southwest Airlines flight from Phoenix was slightly delayed, giving me a chance to dash to Starbucks.
The delay was longer than expected. Then, as we finally boarded the plane, I overheard the gate agent telling another employee something about a ground stop.
We were told to deplane
A man sitting across from me looked alarmed. “This hasn’t happened since 9/11,” he said.
We sat at the gate for 45 minutes, then were told to deplane. The announcer said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had grounded all US flights.
Courtesy of Vanessa Santos
Nobody was complaining, and the general attitude was that there was nothing we could do about it. However, over time, people began to panic, asking whether they should rebook.
They were trying to open the app, but it wasn’t working. Next, someone said it was the result of a cyberattack. The energy changed, and I decided I didn’t want to stay there anymore.
I was due to speak at my friend Alexis’s business conference the next morning, and I couldn’t think of anything worse than letting her down.
It had been months in the making, and she was relying on me.
No rental cars were available
Then I remembered another friend, Marisol, in the city who’d told me she was driving to Vegas. I texted her on the off-chance she hadn’t set off. If she had, I would have rented a car.
Fortunately, she was still at home. She said she had room in her Kia SUV for one more person: me. I was so relieved, especially after I discovered that no rental cars were available.
And so began my impromptu road trip. Marisol’s husband, Francisco, drove with her up front. Marisol’s friend, Jess, and I sat in the back.
Courtesy of Vanessa Santos
I called myself a passenger princess because I felt so spoiled. We stopped at Buc-ee’s to pick up snacks and In-N-Out for meat patties.
We sang along to a ’90s hip-hop playlist — millennial throwbacks —and had great chats. I would never have experienced that on the plane.
It took six hours
The journey was a cool adventure from start to finish. It rained hard, so we had to pull over several times. It didn’t matter. I was getting to Las Vegas against the odds.
All in all, it took seven hours, including breaks, to drive 300 miles to our destination. I was excited to be moderating my panel after all.
It was Friday the 13th, and unlucky for other travelers stranded at the airport. I felt bad for them. For me, however, it was a pretty awesome day.
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