Wakandan-inspired concessions were also given during the pre-flight.
In honor of the Black Panther movie sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, that dropped a few days ago, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport announced the return of direct flights to Wakanda. The unusual move from the busy airport also honors that the Black Panther movie franchise was significantly filmed in the Atlanta metropolitan area.
Catching a flight from Atlanta to Wakanda
Hartsfield-Jackson Airport first announced direct flights to the fictional city back in February 2018, when Marvel’s highly-anticipated Black Panther made its raving debut over the President’s Day weekend. The airport made the announcement through social media as it showed flight ATL 1234 bound for Wakanda at 19:30 that day.
Passengers instantly enjoyed the humor back then, given the movie’s splendid reviews, with many claiming that they would be paying with Vibranium – a fictional metal found in Wakanda. The airport would banter back, saying that the direct flight accepts all currencies and urging passengers to grab their flight tickets before they run out quickly.
Also joining in the airport’s humor and homage to the movie was one of the actors, Lupita Nyong’o, who replied to the airport’s social media account and asked about the choices available for the in-flight entertainment. Of course, the inquiry was all in the context of the movie, and Hartsfield-Jackson Airport happily responded to Nyong’o’s queries.
The return of flights to Wakanda
And it would seem what started as a humorous, simple tweet had turned into a rather serious affair as Hartsfield-Jackson Airport returned to social media to announce the breaking news of the return of international flight services to Wakanda. In the statement, the airport said:
“Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) announces a return to international service with direct flights to Wakanda. This non-stop service on Flight CHBZ will depart from the Maynard H. Jackson International Terminal from gate F8 at 7:30 p.m. this evening.
Also similar to 2018 was the reaction from passengers, with many immediately replying with how they had already anticipated Hartsfield-Jackson Airport to make such an announcement and chimed in, claiming that they had already booked their flights and were ready for departure.
However, one notable difference between this year’s flight and the flight in 2018 was the flight number; in 2018, it was ATL 1234. This year, the flight number is CHBZ, a direct tribute to the movie’s late actor Chadwick Bosman, who played the protagonist, King T’Challa. Bosman and his character were instant crowd favorites, but unfortunately, the actor died two years ago after a four-year battle with colon cancer.
Bottom line
While the flights are certainly fake, it is still heart-warming to witness Hartsfield-Jackson Airport being humorous from time to time and paying homage not just to Atlanta and the Black Panther franchise but also to the late Chadwick Bosman. Having the movie’s cast and passengers chime in was also quite the cherry on top, especially in such stressful times within the aviation industry when a little humor could make anyone’s day.
Source https://simpleflying.com/atlanta-airport-wakanda-flights-black-panther/
