My flight to Philadelphia was scheduled to leave at 11:35 AM. But there was no plane at the gate at 11:30 AM, which was obviously a bad sign. About that time the ticket agent explained the plane was ready and sitting in the hanger about a quarter mile away, but there was no one to move the plane to the gate. A classic worker shortage situation.
The drama continued for a few hours as they scrambled for crew, extra ticket agents, and maintenance staff. Eventually they cancelled the flight. I won’t bore you with the (irritating) details.
There’s a misplaced …