What got you hooked to travel? (or) The split-flap display fails

Just the other day, I was thinking about what it was that made me hooked to travel and flying (and the hundreds of thousands of miles and points along the way). I mean, I've been a fan of travel programs, Air Crash Investigation and all of that over many years, but those really didn't cut it. And then it occurred to me, that it was probably the thrum of the split-flap display at Frankfurt airport on my first ever overseas trip. I'm talking about one of these.



A split-flap display, sometimes simply flap display, is a display device that presents alphanumeric text, and possibly fixed graphics, often used as a public transport timetable in some airports or railway stations, often called Solari boards, named after display manufacturer Solari di Udine from Udine, Italy (Source: Wikipedia). 

In today's more technologically advanced age, these manual split-flap displays have been replaced with electronic screens. Nonetheless, I've had some recent experiences with split-flap displays gone wrong, and here are a few of those that I've spotted myself.

Colombo (CMB)

Madurai (IXM)

Mauritius (MRU)

And if you're still interested, you will love this!



Enjoy!

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