Due to the Lufthansa pilot strike that left the City High Music Department stranded in the Chicago O’Hare airport on Wednesday, March 11th, the Germany trip has become much more complicated. For the 111 students that couldn’t find other flights to Germany, a difficult choice was left for them: wait for the flight on Sunday or cancel the trip and return to Iowa City.
“I feel very frustrated and honestly, I feel like I’m just emotionally done with all of it,” choir member Charles Harding ‘27 said, “I am just going to go home and spend my spring break doing things that I actually feel like I have control over.”
The strike didn’t just leave students with no easy way to Europe. The general confusion also forced them to wait for hours in the airport while the chaperones attempted to get rooms for every student who would have to wait for a night or more to get to Germany. The delay until Sunday for the next flight also leaves the trip short for many of the students.
“I am really upset because this would’ve been my first time going abroad and I was really excited to see the European world,” Miles Lewis ‘28 said. “Hopefully, I still get to see at least half of what was planned.”
Poi Borchardt ‘26 and Jillian Leman ‘26 were two of about twenty students who didn’t even know if they would have a hotel room to sleep in on Wednesday night. After receiving meal vouchers from the airline, they were told that there were no more rooms available in the hotel that had been reserved.
“[Everyone who had gotten rooms] just had to leave us behind,” Borchardt said. “And then there’s a group of fifteenish students who are just sitting there waiting and waiting because they keep telling us 15-20 more minutes, 15-20 more minutes.”
Borchardt and Leman didn’t arrive at the hotel until a little after eight PM, after everyone who had gotten rooms earlier had already settled in.
“The whole time, we were scared we weren’t going to have a place to sleep. We had no idea if we were going to be separated from our group,” Leman said. “After a very stressful day, that was the last straw and I could not stop myself from crying.”
The situation is constantly changing, with the possibility of a two-day trip extension being floated around. Despite the inconvenience, however, some students, like Miles Burke ‘26, have reacted to the complicated situation by making the most out of their unexpected extended stay in the Windy City.
“The food is overpriced but still good, and I’ve made a ton of friends here, so I’m having fun,” Burke said. “[We may be] getting a refund for solely the airplane ticket with the chance of getting refunded fully, so I figure we might as well get at least some fun out of this trip.”
For most students though, the strike has been a source of stress and irritation, a feeling shared with the chaperones, who have worked extremely hard to get the trip back on track.
“I’ve watched our chaperones—our teachers and the people who have virtually zero control over the situation—become extremely stressed, which just makes me more upset, irritated, and disappointed, because these are good teachers,” Morgan Wilson ‘26 said. “These are good people who are supposed to have some level of power, and they feel completely powerless.”
The situation continues to develop, with some students returning to Iowa and possibly to school on Friday before returning to Chicago for the Sunday flight.
“This has been an extremely challenging situation to work through. I simply could not be more proud of our students, staff, and parent chaperones who are on this trip. They have been absolutely incredible. They have demonstrated patience, flexibility, and resilience,” Principal John Bacon told The Little Hawk. “There has been a great deal of logistical maneuvering that has had to happen. I’m very grateful for everyone’s hard work to get things back on track and beyond impressed with our students!”
This is a developing story. Check back on TheLittleHawk.com for updates.
