Spirit Airlines Passenger Melts Down, Pounds Gate Door: Showing Up ‘Two Minutes Early’ Not Enough

[Z'Loth]

I saw this from "View From The Wing" and could not resist sharing....

 

Spirit Airlines Passenger Melts Down, Pounds Gate Door: Showing Up ‘Two Minutes Early’ Not Enough

Summary: The Sprit Airline passenger (and possibly two other passengers) shows up to the gate at 12:10 PM for a flight that has a 12:12 PM departure time. Problem is, the gate is already closed. Passenger is pounding on the gate door to be let in, but there is probably no one on the other side. 

FULL ARTICLE HERE

 

 

 

[6rugrats]

As someone who works the gates when forced to, this happens every day.  There was probably an agent at the end of the jetbridge, pulling it away from the plane.  For domestic flights, you must be in the gate area 15 minutes before departure, and that door to the jetbridge is supposed to be closed ten minutes before departure.  At the time the door closes, information is sent to loading and planning, and that door is not opening up for latecomers.

Then, when they miss their flight, and it's 100% their fault, they yell at agents and make a scene because there isn't availability to rebook them for hours or even a day or so.  

Be at the right gate on time and you won't have any problem with getting in that door.

[CDNPolar]

Don't understand why folks are not understanding of this.  If you are late you are late.  However there can also be the argument that often flights are late leaving for many reasons, but as the flying consumer we have to understand that there are situations on both sides that we have to accept.

 

I also don't understand the yelling at the agent.  Never is it the agents fault.

 

There is a small piece that I cannot find anymore that for me sums this kind of situation up and it is just something that we have to understand...  It went / goes something like this:

 

Often in our lives we allow minutes and hours to slip by without notice, but the value of that one single minute is never realized more, than by the person that is one minute late for the departure of a train, aircraft, or anything that has a hard stop that was one minute before.

[Zach1213]

15 hours ago, 6rugrats said:

As someone who works the gates when forced to, this happens every day.  There was probably an agent at the end of the jetbridge, pulling it away from the plane. 

[Z'Loth]

9 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

Don't understand why folks are not understanding of this.  If you are late you are late.  However there can also be the argument that often flights are late leaving for many reasons, but as the flying consumer we have to understand that there are situations on both sides that we have to accept.

 

It may be that those passengers are applying the rules for other transportation systems (trains, light rail, mass transit, and public busses) to airlines and cruises. As we all know, there are additional levels of security that apply to cruises and airlines. Spirit Airlines tends to appeal to the budget conscious traveler, and, as the article noted, some of those passengers rarely fly.