I've only really missed one flight due purely to my own errors - but it was quite the comedy of errors. I was transiting DXB awaiting my connection to LHR. This was quite soon after the clocks (in the UK) had gone back, for which I'd adjusted my watch. However, having only flown out the previous day, I hadn't bothered setting anything to the local time, instead merely reading the time off my watch and adding the right number of hours. Of course, in my exhausted state, I neglected to consider that DXB doesn't have daylight savings time, so I should now have been adding one extra hour.

The woman doing the PAs was pretty incomprehensible that day, so I must have missed the boarding announcement. I did look at the departure screens in the lounge, which normally flick between English and Arabic, but that day they were for some reason stuck on Arabic. My Arabic comprehension being limited to the numerals for 0 and 1, I waited for the status for what I was pretty sure was EK003 to LHR to flash red, which would indicate final call and time to leave the lounge. Unfortunately, I was actually looking at EK009 to LGW, to depart 45 minutes later.

When that began to flash red (albeit somewhat earlier than expected!), I inquired at the front what gate to go to, only to be met with blank stares, and then informed that my plane had left. Fortunately - yes, a happy end - I was saved by the scale of EK's operations to London (and the fact that they can - when they want - take care of their gold card holders), and was (with mild admonishment) put on EK005, arriving LHR (complete with baggage) merely 90 minutes late.