REPOST: Grenada vs Granada and other flight destination mix ups

 A report by Frances Cha of CNN.com shares (surprisingly) numerous airport mix-ups that will make you face-palm. 

Who wouldn't want to go to Grenada in the Caribbean? Those trying to get to Granada, Spain. | Image Source: CNN.com

You'd think with all the technology at our disposal, destination mix-ups would be a rarity.

Not so.

They're surprisingly common.

One that's attracted attention this week is the unfortunate story of a couple flown to the southern Caribbean island of Grenada, instead of the ancient city of Granada, Spain.

The incident is now the subject of a lawsuit.

U.S. dentist Edward Gamson thought he'd bought tickets from London's Gatwick Airport to Granada, Spain, for himself and his partner via a British Airways booking agent, but only realized he was actually headed to Grenada in the Caribbean once on board, reported The Independent.

The destination country and flight duration hadn't been listed on his e-tickets, which instead displayed only the city name.

"It's just so sad," Gamson told The Independent. "A trip we had been really looking forward to was ruined and ... BA won't do the decent thing."

Gamson claims the airline refuses to reimburse his first-class tickets and didn't reroute the travelers to Granada from Grenada.

Gamson is now suing British Airways for the cost of the trip, including planned tours in Spain that he and his partner didn't get to take.

A spokesperson for BA told CNN the company doesn't comment on matters of litigation.

Grenada, Granada

British Airways made the Grenada/Granada mix-up twice in two weeks. | Image Source: CNN.com

Remarkably, the same mix-up happened just the week before.

Lamenda Kingdon from Plymouth, UK, had also booked a British Airways flight to Granada, Spain, but found herself on a flight bound for Grenada in the Caribbean.

She'd planned the trip after being diagnosed with cancer.

When notified of the mistake, the BA crew moved Kingdon to first class and sent her back to Gatwick when the flight made a scheduled stop in St. Lucia, reported the Daily Mail.

"I genuinely don't blame anyone," she told the Daily Mail. "The person on the other end of the phone probably just misheard me. I honestly didn't notice the spelling difference."


Wrong continent

In May 2013, Sandy Valdivieso and her husband, Triet Vo, boarded a Turkish Airlines flight in Los Angeles, intending to travel to Dakar, Senegal, in western Africa, but ended up in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The mix-up was due to the similar sounding destinations and airport codes.

The couple didn't realize the error until they were already on their connecting flight from Istanbul.
"When the flight attendant said we were heading to Dhaka, we believed that this was how you pronounced 'Dakar' with a Turkish accent," Valdivieso told the LA Times.

Wrong state

Southwest Airlines flew the same woman to wrong destinations twice. | Image Source: CNN.com

In December 2013, 85-year-old Maria Nieves ended up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, after she'd booked a Southwest Airlines flight to Fort Myers, Florida.

It was the second time such a mix-up had happened to her -- two years ago, the airline flew Nieves to Tampa, Florida, instead of New Orleans, Louisiana.

According to Louisiana's WAFB, Nieves had requested wheelchair assistance, which meant airline staff were responsible for assisting her from gate to gate.

"I can see it happening once, but twice to the same person, it's kind of like lightning striking twice in the same place," her son Robert Ortiz told WAFB.

Wrong airport

A VietJet Air flight landed at the wrong airport last week. | Image Source: CNN.com

Last Thursday, a VietJet Air plane that took off from Hanoi landed at the wrong airport.

Instead of arriving in Cam Ranh Airport near Nha Trang, the aircraft landed 140 kilometers away in Da Lat.

The airline flew the misdirected passengers to their original destination via another flight, reported local news outlet Thanh Nien News.

In January, another Southwest Airlines plane landed at a small airport in Taney County, Missouri, approximately seven miles from where it was meant to land at Branson Airport.

Due to the difference in airport runway lengths -- Taney County airport's runway is 3,738 feet compared with Branson Airport's 7,140 feet -- pilots were forced to brake hard when the plane touched down.

No one was hurt and the airline refunded all tickets and provided future travel credit for passengers.

Want to read more interesting travel stories? Follow this Louis Habash blog site  for more amusing tales.

REPOST: Why I am Travelling Light this Summer

Candace Davis of huffingtonpost.com tells us the benefits of packing light and how to successfully pull it off.

Image Source: blog.laterooms.com

Everyone thought I was either brave or crazy, maybe both, when I decided to travel through Europe this summer with a 25 L backpack weighing only 6 kg, but it was one of the best decisions I made and here's why:

Image Source: honolulumagazine.com

1. Stairs, stairs and more stairs. If you've ever travelled through Europe you'll know that there are often several flights of stairs to climb if you ever want to get, well anywhere.
2. Summer time. It's pretty easy to travel light when you're visiting a warm climate. I packed two dresses, three pairs of pants, four shirts, and a pair of pyjamas, plus my laptop, book, and toiletries.
3. Ease of movement. When you're travelling on your own, or with a tour group (I've done both on this trip) you often have to be really quick on your feet--running for the last train, rushing to get through a crowded square, beating the crowd through customs or getting out of a potentially sticky situation. Ease of movement is important when you're an independent traveller... you don't have anyone else you can count on.
4. Save money. When you don't have much space to put stuff, you can't really buy it. I have seen a few things that I would have otherwise bought but I couldn't due to limited space. Rather than seeing it as a missed opportunity, I just avoid the shopping areas altogether and check out everything else the city has to offer... especially by way of food.
5. Reduced waiting times. Goodbye waiting at the baggage carousel, wondering if your bag has made it half way across the world. I just take my bag as carry-on and hop straight off my flight and make my way through customs.

Tips for travelling light 

It's not always going to be easy to travel light, and you will have to repack your bag at least every couple of days to make room for everything, but here are some tips to make things easier:

Image Source: cbsnews.com

• Roll up your clothes, you'll be surprised how much space you will save.
• Remember to only take toiletries less than 100 ml for all international flights (this also significantly reduces the weight of your pack).
• Put the things you will use the least at the bottom of your bag. It took me about a week to remember to put my toiletries and pyjamas at the top of the bag for easy access.
• Pack things you're willing to leave behind. I am willing to leave behind all of the clothes I packed if I find something better to replace them with. This also helps refresh your wardrobe, as wearing the same few outfits for weeks on end can get a little tiresome.
• Check the carry-on weight limit of your airline. I had some flights with 10 kg limits, but some were only 7 kg so I had to stick to the lower limit or risk paying for it, literally.
• Check the banned substances list--no batteries, toiletries over 100 ml, tweezers, nail files, razors, etc. can be in your carry-on.
• Hand wash your clothes. Unfortunately a lot of European hotels don't really support washing in the hand basin but I highly recommend finding a way. If I am staying somewhere for more than one night I will get the hand soap or travel wash out and give my clothes a quick wash. It saves time and money at the laundromat and if you only have a few outfits, you will be washing every couple of days.
• Re-wear your clothes. Okay, this one is a little trickier when you've had a big day on the town sweating your little armpits out, but you can quite easily wear your pants at least twice. This also saves on hand washing.

Visit this Louis Habash Facebook page to get more traveling tips.