Traveler Ubers to Nashville after FAA ground stop

I want to go back to that story that we have been covering now for what feels like two full days, but really it's only been like 36 to 40 hours. And that was a ground stop that happened across the country, and it impacted Atlanta-Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. So Friday's ground stop turned one woman's Atlanta layover into an unexpected road trip. Malia Rummel was trying to get home from work and ended up taking an Uber all the way to Nashville. I want you to take a look as she documented it on Instagram. Hey y'all, I am in Atlanta right now at the airport. I was coming back from a conference in North Carolina. Simple layover, supposed to be about two hours, and all of a sudden this entire ground stop happened. I'm currently attempting to get an Uber. My company approved anyone who wanted to just get an Uber home, so I'm trying to see if my Uber driver... I put it in for going home to Nashville, but we'll see. And guess who we have joining us live? Malia Rummel joining us live from Nashville this morning. Malia, I really appreciate you joining us. I mean, I'm so glad you're home, but you must be feeling exhausted after a four-hour-plus drive. Yeah. Not only the drive, but yesterday I had to get my bag back. It was, the journey was long and I finally feel well rested. Let me just say this because I'm sure I'm not the only one who's thinking this right now. You must have been crazy to get into an Uber for four hours or so to be able to go back to Nashville. Because for me, I don't know, I get car sick four hours in someone else's car in the backseat or front seat or wherever. If I'm not driving, it is just. unbearable for me. I mean, how did you manage four hours? Yeah. You know, I think once it was actually happening because once he picked me up, I said, this is going to Nashville. Are you okay with that? And so I think at that time, both of us realized. We're in for a long haul. I think once we finally worked out the logistics and both of us realized like we're really doing this, I think we both had a good laugh. We ended up listening to country music. He said, hey, I like country. You live in Nashville. Do you like country? So honestly, it turned into a four hour conversation. It was really fun. And it just kind of turned into one of those moments of you don't ever know what life is going to. throw at you and sometimes you just need to let lemons turn into lemonade and so you were on your way home from a work trip where were you coming from and atlanta was a layover so honestly i'm sure you're wishing you were on a direct flight at this point so typically i love having direct flights back to Nashville and I really rarely try to get layovers, but I was coming home from Wilmington, North Carolina. I happened to be there for a conference. It was my first time out to Wilmington. Um, on the way out, I was at the Charlotte airport on this way back. I was in Atlanta. So to be very honest, I feel lucky that the choice was Atlanta because Because I knew that it was going to be a quick drive no matter what. Typically traveling for work, no matter what, whether it's by car or by plane. So the immediate thought in my head, once I found out everything was happening was this is a three hour drive home. This isn't something where I'm just completely stuck and I'm completely out of options. Thank you so much for your questions. So yeah, I just happened to be on a flight for work. Otherwise, generally I have access to a car, but I knew that Atlanta to Nashville was drivable. Yeah, we know a lot of people who drive that. One of my friends did it a couple of months ago when his flight was canceled out of Nashville, drove back down to Atlanta so he could get home and wouldn't have to pay money for a hotel room. And so you obviously made the decision to Uber after your company said, yeah, go ahead, charge it. What was that experience like trying to find a driver who's willing to go more than just maybe 20, 30 minutes up to Sandy Springs or something and actually making the drive, not just, Out of our county, but also into another state. Yeah, absolutely. So I was actually in line at the budget rental car agency. I put it in on my work app, got confirmation, and then basically got there and they said, Hey, you guys were all out of cars if you're looking to leave the state. So at that time I got out of line. I called my manager and said, Hey, I'm in Atlanta. This is what's going on. Obviously it's drivable. The The person. Ahead of me actually got out of line cause she got an Uber. Um, so I just said, you know what? It's possible. So I called my manager, explained the situation, waited a little bit because she said, let me. go further up the chain. Let's see if this is possible, but we also want you guys to get home safely. So she called back and said, you know what? We've brought it up the chain. This is approved. I had told her what I'd quoted, what some of the Uber prices were looking like. And she said, yes, you know what? We, at the end of the day, just want to make sure you get home safely. Please make sure that when you get your Uber driver, that you feel safe being in their their car. I did. Go through originally and follow through with the Uber app. Somebody denied the ride. So the second person that it went through with, they ended up getting the ride once. Dwight got there. He had actually, I had asked him, I was like, listen, this is going to Nashville. Are you okay with that? So I wasn't trying to hide it. I made sure that he was okay with it. Um, we got into his car. He actually called his wife just to say, Hey, I'm going to Nashville. Um, and then we just went through the logistics together of, I want to cover your, um, gas there and back. I want to pay for food. I'm sure you out of anyone. The two of us, you weren't expecting this. But at the same time, he did say somebody had recommended to him, hey, start driving Uber right now because you're going to have a lot of people who are trying to leave the airport right now. So he was a little bit prepared, but at the same time, once we went through logistics, he was like, hey, I'm okay with this, and I'll get you home safely. So how much did the ride end up being when you factor in the Uber cost, the fuel, the food? And it sounds like you ended up making a friend. Yeah. So ultimately I would say priceless because I ended up making a friend out of this, but. At the end of the day, I want to say the Uber ride was about $4.50. Then also, I paid for gas there and back, so I want to say that was probably $75. I also tipped him, and I gave him a five-star rating. I actually wish that there was more that I could actually write in and say, hey, this is why he gets a five-star. He should have gotten 10. He was absolutely incredible, and I'm so grateful that he got me home safely. Um, but then also food. And I want to say that was about 40, $50. Um, but also when we were there, um, we went to Bucky's in Calhoun, Georgia, and he was just so grateful. I made sure if there was something, um, that if he wanted it, he got whatever he wanted. And we also got a treat for his daughter too. So then, um, He was helping me. And so when he finally was able to go home to his little girl, she also got something out of it as well. So you've been posting your experience on Instagram and your social media channels. I mean, what has the reaction been like? You know, honestly. If anything it's been really heartwarming because a lot of people have said hey Dwight is amazing how awesome is this experience I'm sure you weren't expecting that and then there are also the people saying why on earth did you get an Uber home but you have to understand I exhausted every single option ahead of time and my flight officially got cancelled so This was not an overreaction and this wasn't an impulse decision. It was a decision that I made with my company and got full approval for. Well, and see the unfortunate part in this situation because a lot of the times where airlines will reimburse people for things wouldn't fall under this. This was an extraordinary circumstance and it was not within the airline's control. So luckily your company was willing to do this or you could have You could have been maybe stranded into. Sunday because some people were having trouble getting out Saturday which means you could still be here in Atlanta and that four-hour drive might seem like a good option. The question I have for you and I'm sure a lot of people would be asking the same thing, would you do it again? 100%. Once again, I made a friend out of this. And if anything, I felt like I was Catherine O'Hara in Home Alone. And I had somebody like John Candy to help save the day. So if anything, it just turned into a better travel experience than I could have ever imagined. And I'm just so grateful that somebody was willing to drive me home and get me home safely. So. Do me a favor. You have an Instagram account is how I was contacting you yesterday after I saw your post. Tell me about the Instagram account. It's booze free in Magic City, not Magic City, in Music City. I mean, after something like this for me, I feel like I would need some booze. Yeah, you know, actually about two and a half years ago, I just stopped drinking alcohol. And I think because Nashville is known for being a party city, we have Broadway, we have so many things where drinking entices people and it's something that actually brings people. Here to our city. So I actually like to show people just how much fun you can have. I do a lot of mocktails. I also do reviews of different restaurants that are opening. Just really show people that there's life beyond Broadway. There's more to life than booze and Broadway. And you can definitely have a wonderful time here in Nashville without drinking alcohol. And that certainly is true. There's so much Nashville has to offer and so much a lot of cities have to offer. But I'm so glad that you were able to get home. A lot of people, unfortunately, didn't live that close where they're still dealing with some of the ramifications of this very unprecedented situation. I'm so glad your company was able to help you out to make sure you could make it home to your family and make it home to where you live on Friday without having to wait even longer. And you said you got your bag back Yes, so actually I got my bags back. For this entire unprecedented situation going on, I really feel blessed. I feel like I had a really positive situation with all of it. I tracked my bags on the Delta app and both. I had two. I had a conference banner as well. And that's ultimately why I checked both of my bags. But I ended up seeing that both had flown back to Nashville. And here's another thing. When I was getting out of my Uber on Friday night, My Uber driver also said, listen, if for some reason you're having trouble with your bags and they're still in Atlanta, I am also happy to go and get them for you and mail them. So, I mean, he honestly was an angel sent to me. He was so kind and just wanted to help. Um, so between my Uber driver and then also just how easy it was to track my bags on Delta, the ground stop for me is a closed story. And luckily I'm not still dealing with the ramifications. Malia Rummel, I really appreciate your time this morning to talk about this. Certainly an Uber I'm sure you'll never forget and Uber ride that the driver will never forget, Dwight. And I'm glad you were able to make it home. And hopefully he was able to get a ride all the way back to Atlanta with a customer so he could go both directions with someone. But Malia, I really appreciate your time this morning. Of course. Thank you so much for having me on.