Are you privy to the airport’s Code 10?

Unexpected airport announcements can raise passengers’ heckles and plumb the debts of travelers' anxieties.

C’mon, you know it’s true.

A few days ago, I was sitting in a crowd at the gate at Tampa International Airport, waiting for a flight. 

Looking up from my Kindle Fire, I was somewhat amused to see only the tops of more than 100 fellow passengers’ heads. 

Virtually everyone in the gate area was poking at an individual electronic device, be it a BlackBerry, an MP3 player, a tablet, a laptop computer, or an eBook reader.

Suddenly, a static-scrambled alert piped in over the loudspeaker.

“Code 10,” the voice said.

For a flash, heads popped up all around me. Then fingers began tapping on screens, faster than before.

“Is everyone Googling “Code 10” at once? I asked my fellow traveler.

Likely, they were doing just that. I have to admit – I was too.

Guess what we all found out, as we flushed out the answer.

In the banking world, Code 10 refers to a fraud alert. In urban lingo, Code 10 points to extreme awesomeness. Neither of those applied at the airport.

Nope, a Code 10 has nothing to do with national security, terrorism, or an escaped convict. It’s not a medical emergency, an aircraft malfunction, or a drug arrest.

OK, it’s a pot bust, but not what folks were thinking.

Code 10, in an airport, refers to a clogged toilet. It’s a distress call, for sure, but it’s aimed at the maintenance department, not the TSA officials. A Code 10 at the airport means a lavatory is 10-7, or out of service.

WTH?

All of a sudden, I wanted to be in Evansville, Indiana, where the airport code is EW. Or maybe Fargo, North Dakota, whose code is FAR.

But definitely not Wenatchee, Washington, with a code that spells EAT, or Yuma, Arizona, which is tagged YUM. Not for a while, anyway.

10-4. Roger that.

Image/s:

Tampa Airport Outside

and Terminal

Creative Commons Licensing Photos

Feel free to follow on Google Plus and Twitter. You are also invited to join this writer's fan page, as well as the Chicago Etiquette Examiner, Madison Holidays Examiner, Equestrian Examiner and Madison Equestrian Examiner on Facebook.

Share