A missed connection stopped Ahmed Khalid from being on board Flight ET302

Headed home to his family in Kenya, Dubai resident Ahmed Khalid would have been on board the fateful Ethiopian Airways flight ET302 from Addis Ababa had the first leg of his journey not been delayed.

Flying to Nairobi from Dubai, Ahmed was changing planes in Addis Ababa but he arrived too late to make his planned connection.

The unexpected delay saved his life.

Just six minutes after take off from Addis Ababa’s Bole International Airport’s, flight ET302 crashed, killing all 157 on board.

Among the 33 nationalities among the passengers were local travellers, aid workers, UN staff and government officials.

“When I reached Addis Ababa they told me to take the second flight, which is at 11 o’clock and I said it’s fine,” Ahmed recounted.

But when the passengers realised something had gone wrong with the earlier departure, he says they asked airline employees.

“Everyone was asking the cabin crew what was happening, but no one was saying anything. They were just going up and down until one of the passengers saw on his mobile that the first plane which had just flew, like six minutes after it flew, it just crashed,” he said.

But Ahmed’s father was waiting at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta airport, unaware that his son had missed the ill-fated flight.

“I arrived here [at Nairobi airport] shortly after 10am and as I waited, a security person approached me and asked me which flight are you waiting for,” Khalid Ali Abdulrahman said.

“I answered him quickly because I wanted him to direct me to the arrivals, so I told him Ethiopia, and then he said: ‘Sorry, that one has crashed’.”

Mr Ali Abdulrahman said he feared the worst.

“I was shocked, but shortly after, my son contacted me and told me he is still in Addis and did not board that flight, he is waiting for the second one which has been delayed,” he explained.

For others at Nairobi airport, the story was very different.

The nearby Sheraton Hotel was transformed into a reception space for the grieving. Officials and airline employees gave out the latest news and offered counselling. Journalists were not allowed inside, but could hear sobbing coming from inside.

Source: The National