Phil Patel

Flight attendants, prepare for laughing

Phil Patel

  • Age: 25
  • Lives in: Iowa City
  • Occupation: Works at Orange Julius in Coral Ridge Mall
  • Favorite thing: His 2006 Honda Civic

Most people don’t find reasons to laugh while dealing with the chaos and confusion inside a busy airport.

Phil Patel isn’t like most people.

He actually thinks it’s funny watching so many different people coming and going in a hurry.

“There’s people always just staring at monitors and people can’t seem to find what gate they’re supposed to be at,” Patel said. “And they’re always running around like they’ve got no common sense. They’re just running through the terminals.

“And for everybody else who knows what they’re doing, it’s hilarious because people lose their common sense.”

Patel found himself laughing a lot during a trip to India in early January to attend his cousin’s wedding.

“I enjoy watching the people who know where they’re going and what they’re doing,” said Patel, whose father was born in India and now lives in Muscatine. “But the people that are just standing there and looking at everything and taking everything in and just trying to make the most of their airport experience, they just make me laugh.”

Patel said he gets frustrated at times when his plane is forced to leave late because of stragglers.

But he still tries to stay upbeat.

“To me, you just have to laugh it off because what are you going to do?” he said.

— Pat Harty