Leave no flyer behind.
An airplane passenger has been eviscerated online after confessing that they ditched their friend at the airport before flying off solo. They detailed this selfish move in the ever-popular “Am I The A–hole” (AITA) forum on Reddit.
“AITA for leaving friend behind at airport?” inquired the original poster in the entry.
According to the post, the two travel companions were connecting through an unspecified airport with only 40 minutes to spare before their flight was slated to take off.
The trouble began after they reached a mandatory immigration station, which forked off into two different paths.
The original poster took one route while their pal, not seeing which path his buddy chose, mistakenly took the other.
Unfortunately, after the OP had navigated the passport checkpoint, they neglected to wait for their pal, instead thinking it’d be best to meet him at the gate.
However, their friend was lagging behind as he’d inadvertently opted for the more circuitous route.
“I went to the left, down the stairs and straight to the gate,” they wrote. “Meanwhile, after my friend scanned his passport, he went to the right instead because he didn’t see I went to the left.”
While the pal’s path also led to the gate, it was confusing as it also connected to other “gates, customs, checks and more,” per the post.
Despite taking the less direct path, the straggler thought he was only a few minutes behind because of the multiple signs denoting that they led to said gate.
Unfortunately, by the time he arrived, his buddy’s plane had already departed.
While this move might seem harsh, the original poster didn’t regret leaving their friend in the lurch and even blamed him for taking the wrong path.
“He’s a grown man and I shouldn’t be forced to stay right next to him at all times just so he doesn’t go the wrong way if left alone for a minute,” they declared.
The runaway buddy added that they often get separated while traveling together, explaining: “During our vacations, I often ended up going ahead and him searching for me and calling me / writing me that he lost me.”
However, the Redditariat disagreed with his on-the-fly decision to board the plane sans his buddy.
“You’re traveling together, you should have waited for him,” declared one commenter. “He shouldn’t have to call you and run after you, why are you in such a hurry. It sounds exhausting traveling with you.”
Another wrote, “People who charge ahead and ignore their travel companions suck to travel with.”
“If this was a one-time thing it would be no biggie,” said a third. “But since OP seems to get off on it like they aren’t even friends, they seem like a huge AH. OP’s friend shouldn’t have allowed it more than twice. I remember this kind of bullying happening in school when I was 8.”
Others shared similar tales of their flying companions rushing on ahead of them.
“My friend does this a lot if we’re on holiday together,” lamented one. “He just walks off on me. It drives me up the wall. It’s so rude. I’m not a slow walker at all, I just don’t feel like power walking everywhere if we’re not in a rush.”
They added, “I have friends who walk a lot slower than me and I would never just walk off on them and leave them on their own. Why bother doing anything with friends if you just walk off on them.”