Any recourse for an airline leaving multiple passengers behind because the flight left 5 minutes early?

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Tim

No. Airlines can leagally depart their city up to 10 minutes early if everyone is on board. On the back of your boarding pass, it will clearly state "You must be on board 10 minutes prior to departure or we will leave you behind." or something to that effect. Also in the fine print on the back of your boarding pass is their contract of carriage that also states that they can give your seat to a standby customer if you're not on board.

Unfortunately for you, there is nothing you can do other than just arrive earlier for the next flight. I see this multiple times everyday, and everyone seems to blame me for missing their flight. Ironic huh?

flash_flotsam

No. Virtually all airlines require passengers to be at the gate between 15 and 20 minutes before the scheduled departure time -- these requirements will be clearly noted by the airline when you purchase a ticket.

monophoto

If this is a simple matter that the flight pulled away from the gate five minutes before the scheduled departure, then it is unlikely that any passengers who were left behind would have any real recourse with the airline.

The normal boarding time for flights is 20-30 minutes ahead of the scheduled departure time. So for a passenger to miss a flight that left five minutes early, that passenger would have to arrive at the gate 25+ minutes after the scheduled boarding time. The general rule is that if you aren't there at the boarding time, the airline can leave you behind.

This is not an unusual situation - connecting flights are often late arriving causing passengers to miss connections. Often, an airline will make a special effort to help passengers who miss connections, especially if that is caused because an incoming flight was delayed. Unfortunately, all that the airline can do is book another flight, and with passenger loading running very close to capacity, the first flight with an available seat (or seats) may not be the next flight.

It's not all that common for flights to leave early - especially if it is known that there are connecting passengers who have not yet boarded. Conversely, it also not common for an airline to delay a flight because they know that there are connecting passengers who have not yet boarded. The only times where I have experienced that is when the flight was the last flight of the evening - airlines will sometimes hold a flight in instances where passengers arriving on a delayed connecting flight would otherwise be stranded overnight, causing the airline to be responsible for providing overnight accommodations.

EasyShopper

First: What country did this happen in?

In general, I find that the language on the boarding pass says that I forfeit any seat on a flight if I'm not at the gate 15 minutes beforehand. Did you meet this deadline?

After that deadline, they sometimes also put another deadline on the boarding passes or the "conditions of carriage" that you have be be on board 5 minutes before departure or you again forfeit your seat.

From there, the airline may decide that since everyone who is on 5 minutes early is on, and every who wasn't has forfeited their seat that those who are on the plane can leave as soon as they're ready (so, yes, 5 minutes early).

Jude

You would have to closely read the Terms and Conditions of the Airline. You normally have to be checked in at least half an hour before departure time (often longer), and then be sitting somewhere where you can see the departure boards or hear announcements. If you had done all this then even if it had left five minutes early, you would still have got on. This is why airlines always need you checked in early, and always emphasise it is your responsibility to keep an eye on departure boards.

mhmd

No, because they tell the passengers to be there 15 minutes before departure.

cmarketa323

Did they leave 5 minutes early or did you not know that departure time is not when boarding closes? Flights close boarding at least five(sometimes 10)minutes to departure. You should be at your gate at least 1/2 hour before departure. So if your flight is @ 1 and you show up at 12:56 you can't expect to get on the plane. If there were misconnects the only thing you can expect is to get on the next plane going to your destination. Airlines will not hold the plane for passengers not on time for boarding. This should be common knowledge for anyone whose flown a few times in thier life.

If they did in fact closed before they were allowed to then i guess you can make a complaint and see what you can get out of it.

Cam & Rae 4ever

Nope. That 5-10 minutes before departure is set aside for pulling the walkway away, flight crew counting passengers, buckling up, safety instructions, locking all doors (cargo included).

I've learned that the hard way. As was mentioned above, getting to the gate at least 15 minutes before scheduled departure is the only way to be sure to board the plane. By definition 'departure' is when the plane is pulled away from the gate.

However, if the plane was in fact pulled away from the gate five minutes earlier from the scheduled departure time...you may have a chance at recourse. More than likely you'll just be bumped to the next flight or at times, to another airline that has an open seat. Standby, as it were.

Really not worth bothering with recourse. Just get back to check-in and find the next flight out. I've had success being bumped to other airlines...like avoiding connecting flights and arriving early...even was bumped into a vacant first class seat once.

Happy travels :)

Ryan

No, but they give you CONCOURSE! HAHA

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