Must airlines switch to "Last Call" before closing the gate?
- By
- Aparna Patel
- |
- 2 Aug, 2023
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They are more likely to make "last call" announcements if you have checked luggage, as they need to take if off the plane if you don’t board and that usually takes even longer. Full-service airlines also usually make calls, especially if you’re a frequent flyer or premium class passenger and/or they somehow know you are in the airport (e.g. you arrived from a connecting flight), or if this is a long-haul flight or feeder flight to a long-haul flight they know you are connecting to.
But if you’re not at the gate at the required time, they have no obligation to wait for you or make any announcements. They mostly do it for their own convenience and that of other passengers (some airlines and airports get to "final calls" very, very early, just to get you to hurry up, especially in airports where it can take a while to get to the gate), though that is usually through displays rather than spoken announcements.
Many airports explicitly state they don’t make any announcements (especially larger airports where it would just be a permanent flow of announcements).
No, they are not mandatory. These calls are nothing but reminder calls, you know the time and you know the limits and that’s what counts.
You most likely have checked a "I agree to terms" checkbox during your reservation which means you agreed on the following:
Boarding closes 20 minutes before departure. Please have your valid travel document and boarding pass ready at the boarding gate.
and
Advisory
Please be advised that we cannot delay other passengers who arrived at the boarding gate on time, so passengers arriving late at the boarding gate will not be accepted for travel.
For travel on a later flight, you will be required to purchase a new ticket at the applicable fare.
Unlike what you think, gate closing has a procedure that does not involve the gate agents only. When the decision to close the gate is taken (usually automated and then the message is passed to the crew by the ground personnel), pilots and cabin crew are informed and they have a checklist to perform, which includes closing the doors, ensuring passengers are seated and everyone got a seat, locking lavatory doors and other ground duties, etc. etc. It is not as easy as you think. Also, the gate agent would have not been able to scan your boarding pass if the boarding was closed in the system.
Gate lines can be tricky sometimes, one minute they are a mile long, and the next minute everyone is inside the plane.
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