I haven’t. Until today. Well, everything is for the first time once. And what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Ok, so what happened?
Mistake number one: never, ever, buy a ticket when you have only 45 minutes till your next flight leaves (given they’re not on the same ticket, of course). Even at a relatively small airport like Prague. Even if the first flight is with such a reliable airline as Lufthansa. My flight from Frankfurt was the only one that got delayed among all the others around that time. It was 30 minutes in the end. Even though I got through the airport and also passport and security control in 5 minutes, it was too late.
Mistake number two: talk to your friends and family you should be flying with. Even if they have no idea you are coming because it was meant as a surprise. They can speak to the personnel at the gate and ask them to wait. Not sure they will, but still a possibility. I asked the stewardess at my first flight to ask the captain to speak to Prague airport, to tell them I am definitely coming, but the word never got where it should have.
Result: New last minute ticket, twice as expensive as the original one (luckily only twice, it could have been much worse). Leaving Prague 6 hours later, spending night in Paris (hotel costs), then off to Manchester in the morning and 1 hour coach ride to Liverpool.
Well, what wouldn’t I do to see this incredible city again 😉
