Exonians Reflect on Academy’s Flight Delay Infrastructure

By KAROLINA KOZAK, CAROL LEE, HANNAH WEI, and LEON XIE

On Friday, Dec. 20, the final day before winter break, numerous Exonians found themselves stranded at the Boston Logan International Airport or on campus at Exeter due to widespread flight delays caused by the severe winter storms in the area. Many were busy messaging their parents with updates on revised flight times and schedules, while others scrambled to find overnight accommodations after their flights were canceled. After spending hours on the road from Exeter to Boston — a trip that should have only taken an hour — some students were forced to take the long journey back to Exeter. Because of the unplanned accommodations, some Exonians were required to reside in the Exeter Inn or Lamont Health Center for a few nights while preparing for new arrangements the following morning. 

Indications that the trip back home might not go as planned began earlier that day. Students had a half day of finals before departing, and heavy snow accumulated throughout the morning and well into the early afternoon. The buses to Logan took noticeably longer to arrive at the airport, but most scheduling changes resulted in only a few hours of delay. With a little extra time on their hands, students decided to make the most of it. 

Upper Wilson Rhee decided to grab a bite at the food court and found that many others had the same in mind. “It was kind of nice seeing the little community that had popped up there - it was kind of like a misery-loves-company situation.” 

Though hundreds of students were forced to wait out the snowstorm, they found solace in the fact that their friends were in much the same boat. But complications with getting off the ground and returning home didn’t end there. For many students, recurring waves of delays pushed flights back further and further, dragging their trips home more out of reach. 

Lower Daniel Chen and his friends found a way to pass the time using the benefits they’d accumulated through frequent flying, to variable success: “One of my friends went to the [Chase] Sapphire Lounge, and one of them came back with 25 bottles of soft drinks in their backpack. I was also initially trying to get into the Admirals Club if I could since I knew it was going to be a long night. I eventually just paced around to pass the time. I think I walked between concourses B and C about ten times that day.”

In the evening, students were forced to confront the conclusion they’d been hoping to avoid: they might not be getting home at all that day. By 9 p.m., very few planes had managed to take off, most domestic flights were officially grounded, and international ones were rescheduled to various times in the next few days. Upper Stella Heng mentioned the genuine scare she experienced. “Luckily I had two friends who were with me whose flights also got canceled. But since we were all minors, we weren’t allowed to get our own hotel room, so we were really worried about where we would stay.”

Heng believed that the weather was out of the Academy’s control. Rhee noted the effort the school put forth to ensure students wouldn’t have to weather the night sleeping in the airport. “All things considered, they [the Academy] did a pretty good job. They can’t really know what’s going to happen in advance, and how much more prepared can they be than offering you a bus ride back to campus - a place to stay for the night?” 

To eventually get home, some students had to decide the new routes right on the spot. Wilson Rhee knew three people from Charlotte who were also held at the airport. “Jacquie and Sam Altman, we were initially on different flights, but they both got canceled, and we were trying to find a place to go,” he continued.

Senior Anna Rissi, who’s from Washington, DC, had the idea to get a hotel for the night and then take a train the next morning from Boston to DC. After staying at the hotel, and traveling by train and car, the students ended up in Charlotte closer to midnight, two days after they were expecting. 

Setting aside all the challenges, Rhee found the experience to be a form of “the Exeter moment.” Out there in the airport, tied by the common concern, Rhee noticed “the community that was formed” and added, “With the four of us on the train, I feel like we got to know each other better. There’s a silver lining there. It was kind of making the best out of a bad situation, and it ended up being a funny story to tell.”

Ultimately, the widespread delays were more than just practical challenges — they became shared experiences that built resilience and connection among homebound Exonians.