Nicola Benedetti loses it at Heathrow

Nicola Benedetti loses it at Heathrow

News

norman lebrecht

July 13, 2021

The violinist had to queue at the airport. She’s not happy.

 

Comments

  • Peter San Diego says:

    It’s not having to queue she seemed upset about, but the lack of information and the lack of organization to give priority in order of departure times. Sounds like Heathrow is having problems staffing up rapidly, and/or training new hires adequately.

    • Sisko24 says:

      I haven’t been through Heathrow in scores of years. Is it always that bad or is this a thing because of the resumption of travel?

  • Geoff Radnor says:

    Why travel? Get over it. The beaches will still be there next year

  • Geoff Radnor says:

    But I guess she has a concert with an audience to play too. Wish I was there.

  • Gustavo says:

    Chill! Nicola, chill!

    Sail instead of flying!

  • Donna Pasquale says:

    Oh a typical SD distortion. Did you actually read what she said? Would have it made any difference ? probably not. Why let the facts and the truth get in the way of a snide made up story?

  • Giles says:

    Whenever you see the phrase “people in greater need” read “me”.

  • V.Lind says:

    Doesn’t seem to me to have lost it. She sounds very found. And having coped with lack of information in the transportation business, I think she knows whereof she speaks.

    She does not seem to be claiming any privileges, just queueing up with the rest of the travelling public. Now if she was an American golfer, she would be on a private jet and whingeing if it was delayed by weather or an incoming crash.

    Maybe in future she will take advantage of the increasing number of sleeper trains being scheduled across Europe post-pandemic.

    • Saxon says:

      There really isn’t an “increasing number of sleeper trains” across Europe. Sleeper trains are a shockingly expensive and inefficient means of transport (even if the ticket price is heavily subsidized so you aren’t paying for it).

  • Brian says:

    “No one can tell us if our flights will be delayed or if we’re about to miss them.”

    Hmm. Maybe she should just download her airline’s app? That would give her all the flight details she needs.

    Otherwise, looks like a typical summer’s day at LHR.

  • BRUCEB says:

    I was on a flight like that once: approx. a one-hour flight from Rochester to NYC. I forget the sequence of events: there was something wrong with our plane, then there was something wrong with the replacement plane, then there was some problem at LaGuardia so we couldn’t take off… something like that. And we couldn’t get booked on other flights because they were all full, or we were scheduled to leave in 10 minutes, or something. And in the meantime, other planeloads of people would come & go through our gate, because no other flights were being delayed or diverted. That one-hour flight took about 6 hours.

    When we finally landed in NYC and they said “we hope you’ll consider flying New York Air for your future travel plans,” the entire plane full of people burst out laughing.

    This was decades ago, before cell phones & airport rage became fashionable, so sadly I have no video proof. Sorry.

    • Sisko24 says:

      Before you mentioned ‘New York Air’, I thought you were referring to a Mohawk Airlines flight. That would’ve been normal operating procedure for them, particularly from upstate N.Y.

  • Alviano says:

    Simple answer: don’t ever go to the UK. They wanted to be alone. Let them.

  • M2N2K says:

    Long before this pandemic, LHR has consistently been the most consumer-unfriendly of all major international airports I have ever been in.

  • fflambeau says:

    She’s right; the airport is too big and too busy for humans.

  • Henrik Dahlsjo says:

    This is some “Sue’ Sonata Form nonsense.

  • If Nicola get’s upset,it must be bad.

  • Maria says:

    Don’t understand why people are so desperate to fly when we have the Delta virus ripping through the UK and with one of the highest number of vaccinated people in the world for a 68 million population, and England the bigger country. But it is not foolproof and I know of five that have this new variant, two of whom were very ill but at home, and yet Pfizer double jabbed in a small town. Looks like Heathrow to me as a normal day queue, and then people catch all manner of bugs from queueing up and from the plane. Oh, well, each to there own. But the news even about Israel this morning on BBC Radio 4 with its very small population, is not good – has been a model country for other countries on how to cope with the virus. Best stay at home and be grateful to be well – so far.

  • Monty Earleman says:

    Sounds like she’s never flown before!

    • David K. Nelson says:

      More likely, she has flown too often and this was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I know the feeling!
      And she is likely too young to have flown much before the security enhancements post-9/11. Flying used to be such a joy.

      I used to fly a great deal for work and often would return and instruct my administrative assistant “never book me on [xyz] airline again!” It didn’t take too long for her to tell me “Dave, you’ve run out of airlines to boycott.”

      • V.Lind says:

        I remember when flying was a joy. That dates me. My only unpleasant flying experiences were when I was entering the US. (Long before 9/11). The surliest customs agents and border guards on earth, and I have met a lot of border and customs people. (Not true on land crossings from — those guys used to be very amiable).

  • BigSir says:

    She didn’t lose “it” because she sounds rational.

  • Q.Jumper says:

    well done Nicola. This is a scandal, and I fear there will be worse to come. We have relinquished our civil liberties without a fight. this is the result.

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