Travel is not a team sport

“But we’re fourteen!”

That was the argument from a traveler last Friday morning at 5.18 am when I was in a massive security line at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.

The lady was talking to a security assistant and making her case that she was about to miss her flight with her group if she would not be allowed to get to the front of the line.

The fact there were fourteen and therefore it would take even more time should convince the assistant.

So she believed.

The assistant politely declined. And again. And again. Making her case that everyone was in the same boat and warned well in advance to be early.

Ok, I’ll admit, I was also warned, but even I, a seasoned traveler, was surprised by the crowds at 5 am in the morning.

It was a whole new world at the end of the night.

While waiting, there were several attempts from other travelers to try to skip the line. All politely declined. Sometimes, the message needed to be repeated a few times before people heard the message.

It’s obvious. Once you start allowing people to do this, you open the flood gates. Suddenly everyone has an urgent reason.