I had to catch a 6:10 a.m. flight the other day. The day before, I’d returned from work, done the normal stuff, prepared for the flight and finally had gone to bed so I could get up early the next morning. I got up around 3:00 a.m., got ready and went to the airport. As expected, traffic on road was light, the early morning air felt fresh as I headed to the terminal. I got to the airport at 5:00 a.m. without any hassles. The long road from the counter to the airplane—part 1

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