Had a pretty frustrating experience recently and I’m still trying to understand the logic behind it.
I was traveling on a connecting flight with a group of about 10 people on the same itinerary. Our first flight was delayed by around 20 minutes, which meant we were already tight on time for the connection. By the time we landed, boarding for the next flight was already in progress.
We were told that the connecting flight would be aware of our group and would hold the plane since multiple passengers were transferring. We then rushed through the airport because the next gate was quite far away, and some members of the group were moving slower due to age and general fatigue. I personally ran ahead to try to notify the gate that a large group was just minutes away.
When I reached the gate, I was told the doors had just closed a minute earlier and that only a portion of our group had made it through. The agent kept repeating that the cutoff time had been reached and that a few passengers had boarded, but the rest were not allowed in.
What made it more confusing was that shortly after, the situation changed and we were eventually allowed to board due to an unrelated aircraft issue. So we ended up getting on anyway.
I’m not upset that boarding procedures exist or that flights leave on time, but I’m struggling to understand why a known group of connecting passengers, already close to the gate, couldn’t be held for just a couple more minutes, especially when the plane had already been partially delayed for us.
Has anyone else experienced something similar where a gate closes just before connecting passengers arrive, even when staff know they are on the way?
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