Top Flight

Chances are airline workers are used to being greeted with groans of frustration when announcing a delay to a flight.  So it must have been a pleasant surprise for the announcer at Toronto Pearson International Airport to hear cheers of delight from passengers waiting at a departure gate, despite having just revealed a 30 minute delay to a Westjet flight to Newfoundland due to the late arrival of a pilot.  And they were not ironic cheers, for the delay meant the travellers could continue the impromptu party they had all been enjoying at the gate. For it turns out while they had been waiting to board their flight, they had all taken part in a mass sing a long accompanied by musicians Sean Sullivan and Sheldon Thornhill on the guitar and accordion.  Footage taken of the party by fellow passenger Ms Michelle Sacrey Philpott shows people of all ages taking part either by singing along, dancing or simply tapping their feet, including a boy called Liam Carrigan who stole the show with his eyes-closed performance.  Then with the departure time fast approaching the party came to an end as musicians packed up their instruments only to whip them out again on hearing of the delay. “Everyone cheered.  We got the instruments out again and started to continue singing and dancing,”  Ms Philpott said. “Newfoundlanders love to sing and dance.  It is such a huge part of our culture.” In all Ms Philpott filmed five videos of her fellow passengers partying at the gate which she then posted onto Facebook.  They proved to be so popular that a number of them had already gone viral by the time the passengers were finally allowed to board the plane.   Well that’s one way to play the waiting game.