If I know a flight is delayed can I turn up late for check-in at the airport?

3/29/2015 6:18:49 AM

The check-in time has no relation to the flight being delayed. The counter will close on time, even if the flight never departs on time.

This is because there are other things that need to happen for the flight to leave that are dependent on the check-in desk:

  1. Passenger manifest.
  2. Seat reservations/upgrades/changes.
  3. Luggage has to be tagged, the tags have to be entered in the system.
  4. Luggage has to be scanned and transported to the loading bay.
  5. Luggage may need to be loaded onto freight containers.
  6. Passengers may have to pass through immigration.
  7. There might be travel time (walking time) to the gate.

All that needs to happen; irrespective of the length of the delay.

There are other considerations too. At most airports; check-in desks are manned by rotating third-party (ie, non airline employee) staff. So the airline has a limited period in which to check-in passengers, before another set of crew sets up on the same station.

At some locations, the physical counters are restricted as well.

Granted, this isn’t a problem if you are departing from Dubai and are on Emirates since they have a dedicated terminal (so all counters are checking in Emirates flights), but the flight itself may not be open (or be closed) for booking (in the reservation systems).

In short, do not gamble with timing.

3/27/2015 11:22:16 PM

In your particular case you might know when the flight leaves because it’s unlikely another plane materializes but in general you need to be quite vigilant: it happened to me that the delay was decreased! Say, you show up for a flight to leave at 1pm, the flight now shows at 3pm but then it boards at 2pm and leaves at 2:30pm. You need to be vigilant with these things.

3/27/2015 3:23:59 PM

No you can’t turn up late to check-in on a delayed flight, unless the check-in closing time is delayed along with the departure time. Note that usually this is not the case.

The check-in closing time is set relative to the scheduled departure, and usually remains the same, regardless of whether the flight is delayed or not. Hence if you show up at the airport late for check-in, even though you still have plenty of time before boarding due to the flight being delayed, you will be considered as a no-show. This happened to me a few years back on a snowy day in which all inbound and outbound flights to/from LHR were delayed.

Several websites and forums mention this (see here and here). However I believe this webpage from Air Berlin to be more authoritative:

We are unable to check in passengers arriving at the check-in desk after the check-in deadline. These passengers lose their entitlement to be carried on the flight and do not have any right of reimbursement, issue of a credit note or free rebooking. This check-in deadline will remain the same even if the departure of the flight is delayed.

(Emphasis mine)

Other airlines, including Emirates and British Airways, carry no mention of whether the check-in deadline can be modified, probably because they assume that when flights are delayed the check-in closing time does not vary. However they do mention that arriving late for check-in will cause you to be denied boarding in their Terms of Carriage. Emirates (in PDF) says:

6.3 You must comply with the applicable Check-in Deadline. We have the right to cancel your
reservation if you do not comply with the Check-in Deadline or, if no Check-in Deadline has been
indicated, you fail to check-in prior to closing of check-in for your flight. See also Article 5.7.

British Airways says:

6c) You must check in by the check-in deadline

If you do not complete the check-in process by the check-in deadline, we may decide to cancel your reservation and not carry you. By completing the check-in process we mean that you have received your boarding pass for your flight.

Credit:stackoverflow.com‘

About me

Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

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