Director Boards Flight Without Coworkers Who Missed Their Departure. Now She Faces Backlash from Their Families

A company director turned to Reddit after a chaotic work trip ended with two junior employees missing their flight—and her boarding without them.

The trip, intended to celebrate the director’s recent industry award, quickly unraveled. “This past week I was presented with an industry award in Nashville that an agency partner nominated me for,” she explained, noting that although she’s a director, she doesn’t manage the two coworkers involved.

According to her post, the company sent along a specialist and a summer intern—both young, relatively new hires. “They are not on my team (report up through separate VP) and I have very limited / no interaction with them in daily work life,” she wrote.

The specialist, flying for the first time, reportedly ran into airport trouble. “She doesn’t have a Real ID and had to do extra screening,” the director recounted. “She was VERY upset they made her throw away some of her skincare that was over 3oz.”

That evening, the group attended a business casual, country-western-themed awards reception—but not everyone followed the dress code. “Intern shows up in a bandana tube top, micro skirt, cowboy boots and a cowboy hat,” the director said, adding that she pulled her aside to suggest a wardrobe change. “She said she was fine and she thought she looked cute and on-theme.”

Later, the director invited the two to join her and some industry colleagues for drinks at the hotel bar. They declined, saying they wanted to explore Broadway instead. “They make ‘c’mon mom’ jokes,” she added, after warning them that the next day’s panel would start early.

She checked in with them around 11 p.m. to make sure they got back safely but received no reply. The next morning, she followed up again to offer a coffee meetup before sessions began—still nothing.

By the end of the event, the pair finally reappeared—worse for wear. “I did find them in the hotel lobby afterward looking incredibly hungover,” she wrote. She invited them to a late lunch with agency partners, but again they declined, saying they preferred to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame.

She reminded them the airport Lyft would depart at 4 p.m. sharp, but received no confirmation they’d return on time. “Text them at 3:45pm that Lyft is arriving in 15 mins, no response,” she said. “Text them that Lyft has arrived and I’m leaving for airport, no response.”

Still nothing as she boarded. “Text them when I’m in my seat that boarding is about to end, no response,” she wrote. “Doors close, they don’t make it, put my phone in airplane mode.”

When she landed, things escalated. “Land a couple hours later to a barrage of texts from them,” she said. “They’re ‘stranded in Nashville,’ don’t know what to do, how to rebook, who to call for help, etc.”

Then came the voicemail: “I also have an angry voicemail from Specialist’s mom that I ‘abandoned her daughter in Nashville,’ ” she recounted. “She has never flown and has anxiety, she’s having a panic attack at the airport and needs medical attention, she could be human trafficked (???)”

Despite multiple attempts to reach out and assist, the director says she got no response. “Forward them email with our business travel info with after-hours contact and text them that I sent the email, no response,” she wrote. “Texted an hour or so later to see if they were okay, no response.”

She informed their director—who had just started at the company—and forwarded both the mother’s voicemail and her own detailed text history. “She acknowledges my response, but no further dialogue,” the director said.

But the situation didn’t end there. “Now, I get an invite for a Monday morning meeting from that Director with their VP and our C-Suite leader,” she added. “My VP is on PTO.”

Adding to her frustration was one detail she had left out initially. “I worked really hard on [my acceptance speech] and practiced a lot,” she shared. “It was only like 90 seconds but I asked Specialist and Intern to film it for me… Left my phone with them and everything but they ‘forgot’ and that kind of upset me.”

Looking back, she’s conflicted about the decision but stands by her judgment. “I feel like these are adults, I was communicative, and I’m ultimately not responsible for their decisions,” she wrote. “But you tell me, AITA here?”

The Reddit community overwhelmingly supported her. One commenter responded, “OP went incredibly above and beyond here considering that it was a WORK EVENT SHE WAS RECEIVING AN AWARD AT.”

Another added, “These junior idiots causing any type of fuss was really an unnecessary hassle for her when it should have been a personal celebration.”

As for the director, her only lingering question is whether leaving them behind makes her the villain.