- A two-hour flight turned into a six-hour fiasco after my plane was redirected due to windy weather.
- I hadn't expected to be without a phone charger for so long, and I didn't pack a portable one.
- I'll never make that mistake again. For future flights, a battery pack is at the top of my packing list.
Low-battery mode popped up on my phone just as a flight attendant announced we would be on board the plane for a while.
My flight from Bentonville, Arkansas, to Denver, Colorado, was diverted after windy weather made landing at the Denver International Airport impossible.
And with limited fuel on the aircraft, we needed to divert to another airport to refuel. Our captain announced we were heading to Colorado Springs. A few minutes later, we were informed that we were going to a small airport in Pueblo, Colorado, instead.
As the plane landed on the tarmac, a flight attendant told everyone we wouldn't be getting off the plane. Instead, we were stuck on the CRJ700 aircraft while we waited for a fuel truck.
I didn't know how long that would take, but I was convinced that my phone's battery wasn't going to make it to the end of the flight.
It didn't, and after the headache of not having a charged phone, I decided I'm never traveling without a portable charger again.
I didn't need a portable charger for my vacation, so I mistakenly didn't pack one
I was traveling for a wedding, and throughout the entire long weekend, there wasn't a need for a portable charger.
Instead, I always had an outlet accessible if I needed a charge, and I wasn't traveling by myself, so a dead phone wasn't the end of the world — I wouldn't be the one looking up directions or researching a place for dinner.
I knew that going into the trip, so I left my battery pack behind.
And just as I expected, there wasn't a single time I needed the battery pack — until I flew home.
I boarded the plane with a partially charged phone. The charge would easily last long enough for me to scroll for two hours and then get me home once I disembarked the plane.
But as so many travelers have experienced, flights don't always go according to plan.
And as my phone slowly died while I sat on the plane in Pueblo, I looked around for a plug.
The CRJs didn't have outlets, so I couldn't charge my phone that way. Ultimately, I decided to shut off my phone to save the little battery I had left, and I crossed my fingers hoping it would be enough to get me home once I landed in the airport.
If I hadn't shut off my phone, I would've had to wait in the airport for my phone to charge, and the last thing I wanted after the long travel day was to spend more time in the airport.
Thankfully, I had just enough battery to use Google Maps to get me partially home, and by the time my phone actually died, I knew the rest of the route.
If I had been in an unfamiliar city, the dead phone would've been an even bigger inconvenience.
So after the minor inconvenience of not having my phone for a couple of hours on a cramped plane, I won't be forgetting my portable charger ever again.