Ever have one of those moments when you just scratch your head in confusion as you watch your surroundings? I had one of those moments a couple of weeks ago at San Francisco International Airport. En route to Philadelphia from San Diego, I had a connection in San Francisco. I was flying the red eye, departing SFO at 10:30 p.m. I killed the three hour layover by grabbing a bite to eat and reading a magazine. As I made my way to the gate, I was caught off-guard by the number of people milling around. I noticed on the board the gate was separated into A and B. The large number of people was due to two flights’ worth of passengers waiting at the gate. One flight was departing for Newark and the other was departing for Philadelphia. Both left at 10:30 — meaning both would be loading at exactly the same time. This is where the head scratching came into play. As it came time to load, it was chaotic. The gate agents were dueling each other to be heard. Passengers were getting in the wrong lines. People were lining up to board at the wrong time because they were confused by which announcement pertained to which flight. People were hesitant to check bags at the gate because of all the confusion, but overhead bins were quickly reaching capacity. Kids were crying, making the announcements harder to hear. People were losing spots in line because they were in the wrong line. People that had just walked up to the gate were asking questions and delaying announcements from the gate agents. It was mayhem. And, I had to scratch my head and wonder when I looked to the right and saw a row of empty gates. Why on earth didn’t they board these two flights at different gates? I guess I will never understand the reasoning behind that move. Luckily, I got on the right plane and quickly settled in. I would be remiss not to mention the eighth anniversary of 9/11 today. The events of this day eight years ago will never be forgotten and will forever be in the hearts of every American. Our thoughts are with all those who lost their lives, the heroes who selflessly sacrificed their lives and those who lost loved ones. We will never forget. –Kim Krol, eFlyer editor, circulation and public relations executive