Why does nobody talk about the moment your phone dies right as you're trying to scan a boarding pass at the airport gate?

My Pixel 7 battery hit zero percent as I was fumbling with my carry-on at the Denver terminal last Tuesday, forcing me to sprint to the help desk for a paper ticket and almost miss my flight.

3 comments

3 Comments

danielh812mo ago

That Denver airport sprint is the modern version of missing your train. It's not just the dead phone, it's the whole chain of small failures. You were probably running on 5% after the Uber ride, then the airport wifi was slow to load the email, and your hands were full. The real panic sets in when you see the gate agent giving you that "next passenger please" look while your screen stays black.

victorcoleman2mo ago

Always keep a portable charger in your carry-on. Saved me more than once.

the_robert1mo ago

Bro you nailed it with the 5% battery after the Uber lmao. That exact thing happened to me in Atlanta last year. I was trying to get to my gate and my phone died right as I needed to pull up the boarding pass. The gate agent was literally waving me forward and I'm just standing there holding a black brick like an idiot. Luckily I found a charging station next to the trash cans near gate B22 and waited 10 minutes with my phone plugged in while people stared at me. Now I can't fly without that backup battery in my pocket, I swear it's saved me at least five times since then.