While rushing out the door to catch a flight at the airport, you're bound to forget to pack one or two essentials before leaving your home. One traveler in the United Kingdom was mortified to discover a crucial item he'd forgotten to bring after he arrived at the airport.
Max White, a 27-year-old singer-songwriter/producer in London, recalled the disaster in a viral video posted on his TikTok account @maxwhitemusicuk. The clip, which was captured at Gatwick Airport, has had over 600,000 views since it was shared on April 18.
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The footage shows the musician sitting inside a car, appearing to fiddle with his shoes. A voice in the clip asks "You can't believe you've just done what?"
In the video, White replies, "I turned up at the f****** airport, and I forgot to take my Crocs [a brand of rubber slippers] off. I forgot to put my shoes on." The video shows him frantically cleaning his Crocs with wet wipes.
White told Newsweek: "I left in a bit of a rush and forgot to swap my Crocs for real shoes! I [didn't] notice this mistake until I put one foot out the car door and felt the cold on my feet."
He added, "I was on my way to Sweden at the time, which was much colder than the U.K., so I desperately needed to go buy some shoes."
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White is bound to be joined by several other passengers who may have made the same or a similar mistake, with more people traveling in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era.
According to a January 2024 report by the International Air Transport Association, global air traffic is now at 99.1 percent of November 2019 (pre-pandemic) levels.
'Catastrophe'
A caption shared with the viral post reads: "2 years since this catastrophe."
The voice in the latest clip asks, "Do you have any other shoes with you?" to which White replies, "No, I don't have any shoes with me."
Hysterical laughter could be heard in the background as the voice noted that White is "just Dettol[a cleaning product]-wiping his Crocs so they look presentable."
White replies, "These are my house Crocs," before the video ends.
The poster told Newsweek that "another fun part of the story that nobody knows" is that when he went to buy a pair of shoes, he was accidentally overcharged.
"So, I had to wait for a refund because the manager wasn't there and waited so long I had to run to catch my flight," White said.
Several TikTok users could relate to the travel blunder.
"Yeah Crocs sneak up on you like that. You don't even notice they're on your feet," one commenter said. The original poster replied: "That's exactly what happened!"
"I know the feeling, I have house crocs and once turned up to work in them," a sympathetic TikTok user wrote.
Another user, michy, said, "omg this literally happened to me last month when i went to Vermont and there were snowstorms as soon as i got there."
Do you have a travel-related video or story to share? Let us know via life@newsweek.com and your story could be featured on Newsweek.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Soo Kim is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. She covers various lifestyle stories, specializing in travel and health.
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