Timaru to Texas: Part II, Death Stalks LAX

Kia Ora!

Our journey continues...

Lights went up and passengers roused, anticipating breakfast. Then over the PA system, airline staff called for a doctor on board. KC answered that call but stood down as six other physicians volunteered also. One passenger did not awaken that morning. An elderly woman passed away quietly in her sleep overnight. This meant when we landed our plane would park out on the tarmac and await an Emergency Medical Service (EMS) team to remove the deceased before the rest of us could deplane.

Breakfast was served about 8 AM and a short while later, we landed. Then more news. There was a shooting in Terminal 2, where we were to deplane. Two were dead and others injured. (We learned later that it was Terminal 3 and one death.)  Los Angeles Airport (LAX) was shut down. No planes in, some diverted to other airports, and none out of LAX for now. And no one could deplane. We waited out away from the terminal. One hour. Two hours. Three hours. The flight staff passed out biscuits (cookies) and candy until there was no food left. Information was shared as it became available. Our plane was no where near the terminal because we had been stopped off site for the earlier emergency. It was long after lunch time. Everyone was calm and patient.

KC waits, willing the carousel to begin moving

Finally, about 3 PM, the deceased was off-loaded and city buses arrived to transport us into the terminal. We processed through Immigration and waited at Baggage Claim for the next one and one-half hours. Our luggage was still far out in the plane and had to be unloaded and bused in.

Finally it arrived and we headed for Customs with our luggage and declaration. I handed over our form. "Wait!" said the agent, and he glanced again at the total claimed, looked at me, and waved his hand to dismiss me out the door. This was not going to be the day Customs was going to quibble about a woman who overspent the prescribed limit by a relatively small amount.

Usually we fly domestically with United Airlines as they have an alliance with Air NZ and our luggage is transferred seamlessly. But that meant changing planes in Denver with an hour lost at that airport and a late arrival into Austin. So I gambled on American that had a direct LAX to Austin flight arriving at the decent hour of 10 PM. But they would not transfer our luggage.

That decision meant we transferred our two luggage carts loaded with six bags (allowed on First Class) and four carry-on items ourselves. Outside was a mob scene. A huge number were waiting for the inter-terminal bus. We decided we could get from Terminal 2 to 4 faster by pushing our way through spaces in the crowd. At Terminal 4 we encountered a line to check in that was the length of the entire building. It took a quarter of an hour to figure out there was an unpopulated First Class check-in site beyond what we could see upon entry. Our flight was still on site, but our First Class seats had already been given away. In fact, there were no more available seats on that flight, but the gate agent could get us on a Dallas flight in the morning. Or we could go to Dallas later tonight and stay there and fly out in the morning to Austin. At that point, another customer leaned in and said, "Go to Dallas. The Grand Hyatt is right at the terminal and there will be more hotel availability there than here with all this delay." Made sense to us; that is what we chose to do.

Bags rechecked, we shouldered our carry-ons and processed through Security to the prescribed gate. There KC and I separated, I to the loo and he to find food. Later, I got myself some fruit, thinking I would eat on the plane, but where was KC. I sat down, ate the fruit and began to worry about KC. I stood up and walked back toward the other gates when I heard KC shout. He was looking for me and I had been sitting at the wrong gate. The fatigue of the day and lack of food caught up with KC. He had lost track of the rolling carry-on with most of our electronics in it. No, it wasn't where we had been sitting. The personnel at the kiosk where he purchased fruit found it, but turned over to Security. Though KC went to Security and the airport police, no one claimed to know where it was. In desperation as they were loading our flight, he scribbled down his name, phone number, and address and gave it to the agent at the American Airlines Service Desk explaining the dilemma and we left.

to be continued...

Cheers,
Kiwi Traveler