Readers recount worst flying experiences

Dubai: Not everyone falls asleep the minute the plane leaves the ground. Unfortunately there are those who feel every bump and shake, hear every noise, and wonder what is going on.

Gulf News spoke to its readers in one-on-one interviews to find out if they had ever experienced unpleasant flights.

Ursula Manvatkar, a Dubai-based assistant trade marketing manager, said her worst flight experience was during a flight to India a little while ago.

"The plane was so pathetic. When we were at 30,000 feet, it was shaking so bad that we had the oxygen masks come down. And when [the plane] started to come down [for a landing] they were coming down so fast that people were having problems [with the] pressure, and my nose, ears and gums started to bleed," she said.

Gregory Gomes, a customer service officer in Dubai, explained that the worst he had experienced was really bad turbulence.

"It was a night flight, there was extreme turbulence, and I think the crew started panicking because they were not sure what was going on. They kept telling everyone to remain calm, but they were not calm themselves. It took about a half hour to settle down, and then when we landed, the pilot apologised for the extreme turbulence. That is something I'll never forget," he said.

For Dubai-based scuba instructor Zeus Azusa Shiraki, the worst experience was an emergency landing prompted by a flickering light in the flight cabin.

"[The] light kept turning on and off. They didn't know if it was a mechanical problem with the plane. [We] had to make an emergency landing, but the mechanics were all in church so we had to wait until they got out," Shiraki says. "We had to wait for four hours."

However, not everyone who travels has encountered these kinds of situations — or ever will.

Nassef Nabeeh, an Abu Dhabi-based educational advisor, has never had a bad flight.

"I haven't been exposed to such situations before. I can't say I've had any problems," he says.