People waited for a long time at Glasgow Airport. They wanted to fly to Iceland. A problem with the airplane made them wait for over 35 hours. There were about 170 people. They were very tired and unhappy.
The airplane company is called Icelandair. Another company, Menzies Aviation, is helping them. The people got some money for food. They stayed at a hotel for a short time. Some people are worried about their holidays. They do not know what will happen next. One woman said she will not travel through Glasgow again.
Original news source: Passengers’ despair after 35-hour flight delay (BBC)
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Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– Airplane Charades
Instructions: Divide the students into two teams. One student from each team will come up and act out an airplane-related word or phrase (e.g., pilot, taking off, landing, etc.). The other team members must guess the word or phrase in English. The first team to guess correctly wins a point.
– Storyteller Hot Seat
Instructions: Choose one student to sit in the “storyteller hot seat.” That student will briefly summarize the article in their own words. The other students will ask the storyteller questions about the story in English. The storyteller must answer the questions using information from the article. Switch storytellers after a few minutes.
– What’s in My Suitcase?
Instructions: Divide the students into pairs. One student will pretend they are going on a trip to Iceland and tell their partner what they are packing in their suitcase (in English). The partner will listen and then, without looking at the list, try to recall and repeat the items. Encourage students to use vocabulary from the article and to be creative with their packing lists.
Comprehension Questions:
1. Where did people wait for a long time?
2. Where did they want to fly to?
3. How long did they have to wait?
4. How many people were waiting?
5. What is the name of the airplane company?
6. What did the people get money for?
7. Where did they stay for a short time?
8. What did one woman say about traveling through Glasgow?
Go to answers ⇩
Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
People waited for a long time at (1)________ Airport. They wanted to fly to Iceland. A problem with the airplane made them wait for over 35 hours. There were about 170 people. They were very tired and unhappy.
The airplane company is called (2)________. Another company, (3)________ Aviation, is helping them. The people got some money for food. They stayed at a hotel for a short time. Some people are worried about their (4)________. They do not know what will happen next. One woman said she will not travel through (5)________ again.
Go to answers ⇩
Discussion Questions:
Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.
1. Have you ever waited at an airport?
2. How long did you wait at the airport?
3. How did you feel when you waited?
4. Have you been to Iceland?
5. Do you know the name of the airplane company?
6. What did the people get for food?
7. Did the people stay at a hotel?
8. How did the people feel when they waited?
9. Have you ever been to Glasgow Airport?
10. What would you do if you had to wait a long time at the airport?
11. Would you be worried about your holiday?
12. Do you think it’s fun to fly on an airplane?
13. Would you fly with Icelandair?
14. Do you think the woman will travel through Glasgow again?
15. What would you do if you were one of the people waiting?
Individual Activities
Vocabulary Meanings:
Match each word to its meaning.
Words:
1. airport
2. airplane
3. problem
4. tired
5. unhappy
6. company
7. hotel
8. travel
Shuffled Meanings:
A) A big place where planes take off and land
B) A group of people who work together to do a job or make things
C) A big machine that flies in the sky and carries people
D) Feeling like you need to sleep or rest
E) Going from one place to another, usually far away
F) A place where people pay to sleep and eat when they are away from home
G) Something that is not right or causes trouble
H) Feeling sad or not pleased
Go to answers ⇩
Multiple Choice Questions:
1. Where were the people waiting?
(a) Iceland Airport
(b) Glasgow Airport
(c) Menzies Airport
(d) London Airport
2. How long did they wait?
(a) 35 minutes
(b) 35 days
(c) 35 weeks
(d) 35 hours
3. How many people were waiting?
(a) 170
(b) 17
(c) 70
(d) 7
4. How did the people feel?
(a) happy
(b) excited
(c) tired
(d) energetic
5. What is the name of the airplane company?
(a) Menzies Aviation
(b) Icelandair
(c) British Airways
(d) Glasgow Airlines
6. What did the people get money for?
(a) clothes
(b) toys
(c) food
(d) cars
7. Where did the people stay for a short time?
(a) a restaurant
(b) a park
(c) a hotel
(d) a school
8. What did the woman say she will not do again?
(a) travel through Glasgow
(b) eat at a restaurant
(c) stay at a hotel
(d) fly to Iceland
Go to answers ⇩
True or False Questions:
1. People waited at Glasgow Airport to fly to Ireland.
2. The airplane had no problem and was ready to fly.
3. They waited for more than 35 hours.
4. There were about 100 people waiting.
5. The airplane company is called Icelandair.
6. Menzies Aviation is not helping Icelandair.
7. The people got some money for food and stayed at a hotel.
8. One woman said she will never travel through Glasgow.
Go to answers ⇩
Write a Summary:
Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.
Writing Questions:
Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.
1. Where were the people waiting?
2. Why did the people have to wait for over 35 hours?
3. What is the name of the airplane company?
4. What did the people get money for?
5. Why was one woman not going to travel through Glasgow again?
Answers
Comprehension Question Answers:
1. Where did people wait for a long time?
People waited at Glasgow Airport.
2. Where did they want to fly to?
They wanted to fly to Iceland.
3. How long did they have to wait?
They had to wait for over 35 hours.
4. How many people were waiting?
About 170 people were waiting.
5. What is the name of the airplane company?
The airplane company is called Icelandair.
6. What did the people get money for?
The people got money for food.
7. Where did they stay for a short time?
They stayed at a hotel for a short time.
8. What did one woman say about traveling through Glasgow?
One woman said she will not travel through Glasgow again.
Go back to questions ⇧
Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:
1. Glasgow
2. Icelandair
3. Menzies
4. holidays
5. Glasgow
Go back to questions ⇧
Vocabulary Meanings Answers:
1. airport
Answer: A) A big place where planes take off and land
2. airplane
Answer: C) A big machine that flies in the sky and carries people
3. problem
Answer: G) Something that is not right or causes trouble
4. tired
Answer: D) Feeling like you need to sleep or rest
5. unhappy
Answer: H) Feeling sad or not pleased
6. company
Answer: B) A group of people who work together to do a job or make things
7. hotel
Answer: F) A place where people pay to sleep and eat when they are away from home
8. travel
Answer: E) Going from one place to another, usually far away
Go back to questions ⇧
Multiple Choice Answers:
1. Where were the people waiting?
Answer: (b) Glasgow Airport
2. How long did they wait?
Answer: (d) 35 hours
3. How many people were waiting?
Answer: (a) 170
4. How did the people feel?
Answer: (c) tired
5. What is the name of the airplane company?
Answer: (b) Icelandair
6. What did the people get money for?
Answer: (c) food
7. Where did the people stay for a short time?
Answer: (c) a hotel
8. What did the woman say she will not do again?
Answer: (a) travel through Glasgow
Go back to questions ⇧
True or False Answers:
1. People waited at Glasgow Airport to fly to Ireland.
Answer: False
2. The airplane had no problem and was ready to fly.
Answer: False
3. They waited for more than 35 hours.
Answer: True
4. There were about 100 people waiting.
Answer: False
5. The airplane company is called Icelandair.
Answer: True
6. Menzies Aviation is not helping Icelandair.
Answer: False
7. The people got some money for food and stayed at a hotel.
Answer: True
8. One woman said she will never travel through Glasgow.
Answer: True
Go back to questions ⇧
