Airplane flights come and go at airports everyday. What kinds of public announcements would you expect to hear at an airport while waiting for your flight? Write down your ideas before beginning the listening.

HELPFUL TIP: Understanding flight information at an airport can be a challenge, and missing a flight because of embarrassment isn’t worth the risk. Listen carefully and ask questions if you don’t understand.

1. Listen to the conversation by pressing the “Play” button and answer the questions. Press the “Final Score” button to check your quiz.

Hello. Passengers of flight 17 bound for Caracas, with stops in Atlanta and Miami. The departure gate has been changed to 30B. Also, there will be a slight departure delay due to inclement weather outside. The ground crew is in the process of deicing the wings in preparation for departure. It also looks like the flight is slightly overbooked, so we are offering complimentary round-trip tickets to a few passengers willing to take a later flight. We should be boarding about a quarter to the hour. Thank you for your patience.

• inclement (adjective): severe
  - The game was canceled due to inclement weather.

• crew (noun): an organized group of workers
  The ship’s crew were very helpful during the cruise.

• deice (verb): make or become free of frost or ice, defrost
  - You need to deice the windshield this morning. It dropped below freezing last night.

• overbook (verb): too many seats, for example, have been reserved in advance
  - Airlines tend to overbook seats on their flights which can be an inconvenience to some passengers.

• complimentary (adjective): free, gratuitous
  This hotel provides a complimentary breakfast for all its guests.

• board (noun): to get on an aircraft, ship, train, bus, etc.
  - We should board the train at least ten minutes before departure.

Have you ever had to wait for a delayed flight? What was the reason? What other reasons can you think of that would cause the flight to be delayed or cancelled? Would you be satisfied if the airline offered you a free flight to another destination for future travel if they had to cancel your current flight until the next day? Why or why not?