To the family that boarded an Indigo flight on Wednesday morning out of MAA...

As rather frequent fliers, many of us are used to the slew of processes from arriving at the airport till the time we are seated in the aircraft. It is easy to think of the various steps as being quite natural. For instance, after I check in at the counter, I...

• make sure I have my cabin baggage tags for security stamping (and take a couple more for good measure - for the return trip or if it comes off before security),
• get into the security line,
• be ready with my laptop out of the bag,
• tray for the laptop and cellphone,
• keys and other metallic items in the hand baggage (you can keep your belts and shoes on in India),
• wait in the queue for security check,
• leave my boarding pass on the counter before security check and quasi-pat-down,
• occasionally make small talk with the security officer,
• make sure the boarding pass is security stamped,
• collect my bags (after checking for the security stamp, of course), laptop and other stuff in the tray
• etc etc.

So I was boarding a flight out of MAA the other day, and there was this dad with his son, who were obviously (a) rather newbie fliers, and more importantly (b) were terribly late for their flight. So here's a list of things that they did, which caused me and others near me in the security line to have a pretty good laugh, because it was all *so* funny at the time.

• Dad and son (who looked about 6-7 y/o) carrying a total of 5 pieces of hand baggage, tried walking straight through the security frame
• When the security officer told them to go back, they had really no idea what to do - which was made worse because they were already late and panicking
• Dad is advised by other travelers to put his bags for security screening - in his hurry, trips and almost lands face first into the security scanner
• Dad has no clue whether he should go through security first, or his son, or both together (they finally went in together)
• Removes a ton of coins, keys and a cellphone from his pocket (and so has to go back to the scanner to put these in a separate tray)
• By the time he's done, the son has finished with security and moved on, so dad's looking for him and almost leaves the security area, and has to be summoned back for his check
• In the mean time, his wife appears from nowhere, and attempts to affix the security stamp herself, on his boarding pass.

By the time they got done, even the security officers around were in splits! And as I said before, we all had a good laugh.

It was only much later, as I was reflecting on the events of the morning, when I realised that there is a lot about the "simple" act of passing through security screening, that we as frequent fliers take for granted. I'm reminded of the airport security scene from the movie Up in the Air (though when Clooney does it, he makes it look good!).

I'm fortunate to have travelled a fair bit, and while I won't pretend to understand the world's cultures, I at least know what to expect at airport security, particularly in India. But that guy at MAA airport could've been me 12 years back. And if I had a son like that guy did, who was missing (not exactly) for a minute in a strange place, I'd be perturbed about it, and not to mention I'd be panicking in any case because I was late for my flight.

In the end, I was rather ashamed of my behaviour and that of my fellow passengers in the security queue. I truly was. Even if the guy didn't know he was being laughed at.

And so, to the gentleman and his family: Sir, if you're reading this, you know who you are. And although you may not know me, my unconditional apology for my behaviour and our collective insensitivities the other day.