i went through something really strange yesterday & was wondering whether anyone else here has experienced something similar....

i was flying from del-bom on kingfisher last evening....i got to the airport about an hour or so before my flight, went through security, got my hand luggage tags stamped, went to the lounge & was waiting to board my flight....

when they announced boarding i started walking towards my gate....i stopped at one of the restaurants & grabbed a sandwich & something to drink since i'm not particularly fond of the food kingfisher serves (i find it too heavy)....they gave me the sandwich & drink in a brown paper bag, i paid, got my change & the receipt & started walking towards the gate....i had my laptop bag on my shoulder & the brown paper bag in the other hand....i passed a garbage can on the way & threw the receipt away there....

i get to my gate, show them my boarding pass & walk up to the guard who checks whether the bags have been tagged....he saw the brown paper bag in my hand & asked me why i had not got that tagged....i told him i bought this after i passed security so he asked for a receipt....i told him i threw it away....he in turn tells me i cannot take the bag on board....i said its not a problem & took the contents of the bag out & was about to throw the bag away when the guard tells me i have to get the sandwich & drink scanned before i can take it on board....what followed was a couple of minutes of back & forth between us where he simply would not allow me to take the food on board unless i produced a receipt or got it scanned....it didn't matter whether i put it in my bag, carried it in hand or in the paper bag....he would not allow me to get on the flight....

i was just about ready to give up the damn sandwich & apple juice when his supervisor came up to the gate....what i didn't realise is that this guard actually called his supervisor in between all this....the supervisor says the exact same thing about the receipt otherwise he could not allow me to take the stuff on board....he said apparently it was a new policy....while the 2 of them spoke amongst each other i simply opened the sandwich & finished it....then i opened the apple juice can & drank it....i asked if i could board now....they had a weird look on their face as if they didn't know what to do next....but luckily sense prevailed & they allowed me to board....

i take over 100 flights a year & have probably spent more time in an airport in the last 3-4 years than most people would in a lifetime....but i have never come across anything like this before....it was a ridiculous conversation where i wasted 5 minutes of my life that i will never get back....