King Sasanka – Sri Lankan Writer & Retired Aviation Professional.

  When VIP Baggage Meets Reality: A Tale of Airport Check-In Drama Every time a prominent political figure or self-proclaimed VIP makes headlines for trying to bend aviation rules and throwing tantrums at boarding gates, frequent flyers and airline veterans let out a collective, knowing sigh.   Recent news of ruling party figures trying their strong-arm tactics to board flights, only to be grounded by rigid airline protocols, reminded many of us that entitlement at 30,000 feet is an evergreen genre.   The flight departed on schedule, and the internet naturally flooded with war stories from aviation staff who survived their encounters with these VIPs.   Hearing those tales brought back memories of my own tenure working for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) at the Colombo International Airport, Katunayake, Sri Lanka .   Let me take you back to a classic day at the check-in counter. The Excess Baggage Showdown It all started when a Pakistani pas...

Compared to the present set up Katunayake Airport was a little shack like in the early 80s when Tony & I joined aviation. Like me, most of my other batch mates were straight out from college and into their first taste of money from a pay cheque. But Tony was a few exceptions and his previous employment too was the same location, so he knew every nook and cranny the little shack which was like treasure trove to most of us. We were privileged enough to get clearance to have access to all areas including most sterile areas. I still remember him taking some of us to those areas and advising us the Dos & Don’t in those highly sensitive areas like a big brother in protective mode knowing well that some of us were brash, ignorant and stupid. After the initial training of 6 months, he opted one path and I another but we remained in contact and friends. A few years later, he got an assignment in one of the Middle Eastern airport and so he left shores. I do not know what it...