After sitting outside John F. Kennedy International Airport’s Gate 27 for almost three hours, American Airlines passenger Samuel Richman “can finally empathize with refugees.”
“I mean look at this place,” said Richman, referring to the crowded area outside Gate 27. “It’s like a refugee camp or something. Kids are crying, parents can’t find anywhere for their families to keep their bags, and the only restaurant still open is one lousy Subway almost 10 Gates down.”
Richman’s 10 PM flight from New York to North Carolina, where he would return to his air-conditioned apartment and warm bed, had been cancelled two and a half hours before. Richman was reassigned to a flight scheduled to leave almost eight hours after his original flight.
“I had to wait in line for almost 45 minutes to get a new ticket,” said Richman. “My carry-on is really heavy, and I have to pay almost two dollars an hour to access the airport’s premium Wi-Fi.”
“It’s really humbling to have joined the population of the world that knows how it feels to be displaced,” Richman added, before opening a bottle of cold water. “All I can hope is that I don’t catch any diseases from this terminal. My immune system always seems to get a little weaker when I don’t get a full eight hours of sleep.”
At press time, Richman was spotted purchasing his third Subway sandwich.
