Arthur Hailey has a lot of great writing. However, fans tend to consider “Airport” one of the best articles in his career. It’s probably not just that.
So today we will try to understand the plot of the book, and also consider its hidden meaning. Sit back, grab something to eat, and we begin!
Brief story about Fictional Airport
The book begins with a description of a strong snowstorm that complicates the work of all city and airport services. Such weather conditions negatively affected the mood of the staff of the institution, as well as passengers. The situation becomes even more complicated after one of the aircraft blocked the main lane, and some flights had to be urgently diverted to other landing points.
The head of the airport, Mel Bakersfeld, is trying to normalize the work of all services in the territory entrusted to him, giving confident and clear orders. Working next to him is Tanya Liningston, who is in love with her boss. Spoiler alert, he also has feelings for her.
In parallel, work is underway on the runway to pull the stuck plane out of the mud and restore the work of this section.
Also working in the control room is Mel’s brother Case, who in the past was a successful and respected specialist. However, in his shift, though not through his fault, the plane with the family crashed. Now he’s waiting for his shift to end so he can go to a hotel and kill himself.
At the same time, a flight to Italy is being prepared for departure on one of the lanes. The plane will be piloted by Mel’s sister’s husband Vernon. He and Mel have a strained relationship due to the pilot’s overconfidence. Flight attendant Gwen Meighen, who is Vernon’s mistress, flies on the same board with him. Even before departure, she told him that she was pregnant, but the man insists on an abortion.
Also on board is impoverished businessman Guerrero, who wants to blow up the plane over the Atlantic so his family can get insurance for his death.
Here is such a hodgepodge we have at the beginning of the book. However, the author managed to quite organically and qualitatively connect all the plot twists, and confidently complete the novel. Let’s talk about the meaning of the book.
The meaning of the work
The author wants to tell us that the field of air transportation and, in particular, the airport affects a large number of people with different characters, fates, moods and connections.
A huge number of people pass through the airport with a load of their problems, desires, hopes and manic inclinations. Such a vinaigrette, one can say with full confidence, affects the lives of personnel, pilots and dispatchers. And if at the dawn of their career it seemed something unusual, now people are already accustomed to fulfilling the tasks assigned to them.
However, every time you have to adapt more and more to the rapidly accelerating world. About this, in our opinion, the story of “Airport” tells.
This concludes our analysis. If you have any questions or suggestions, be sure to write them in the comments. And we have prepared a number of other reviews for you. Here they are:
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The meaning of the book “The Doomed City” by the Strugatsky brothers: the eternal city, the creative intelligentsia and the mysterious Mentors
The meaning of the book “Hormones of happiness” by Loretta Graziano Breuning: how to manage your hormones to live happily
Well, now we have everything for sure, so see you soon on the pages of new articles, and a peaceful sky over your head!
