What happens to these people in airports?

[Helpmethinkofasolution]

Nearly every time I fly I hear a call out for people who have seemingly checked in, checked in their bags but then are late (really late) for boarding. I'm pretty scatty but I've never had so much fun at the airport that I've forgotten to check that my flight is boarding! Do they just get distracted?
Not judging just wondering how common it is for people to be 'un-boarded' and what happens?

They go to the bar/shopping and forget the time?

They've probably spent 2 hours queueing for a Frankie and Bennys breakfast and have just sat down when the flight is called but are determined to eat it before they board

They've probably ordered food and got really slow service or more commonly, they don't realise how far away they are from the boarding gate.

My friend went out for a smoke and missed the flight to my wedding 🙄

We've been called once.
Checked in with a toddler. Security queue was massive. I got stopped and checked. Trunki got checked. Took DD to change her bum, as not enough room to do a toddler in a plane toilet. Realised our buggy hadn't come through security, ran back. Neededto grab a sandwich and water for the plane, as no food served during flight, can't take drinks through and had queued for 2 hours to check in. By the time we reached the shop, they were calling for everyone to board, and calling our names by the time wed made the seven thousand mile trip to the gate. No shopping, no beer, just 3 staff working to check in several tui flights at the same time after covid leaving not enough time to get to get through.

We were there over 2.5 hours before our flight the way, in Manchester.

It happened to us once. Massive, disorganised queue to check in then the tram to the gate broke down. We missed our flight.

This was me once. Didn’t hear boarding call and didn’t realise how far gate was. Literally got on and plane started taxiing.

My friends and I did this once when I was (much) younger. Our flight was delayed by 5 hours so we all headed for the bar as did some other people on the same flight. We had a great time, got very drunk with the other passengers and didn't even notice our flight was boarding, we just made it although I doubt we'd be let on in that state these days (thankfully) this was pre 9/11 and I guess security was a lot more relaxed, my friend even managed to smuggle our unfinished bottle of wine onto the plane.

They are my IL’s.

They get stuck in toilets, shops or just sit at the gate and don’t look out for announcements… baffling.

Usually after they’ve been at the airport about 4 hours early too.

I always wondered who these people were as well. Until it happened to me and my mate. A first class lounge, food and alcohol all contributed to our shame.

Happened to my husband on the way to my graduation. Very long time ago. He raced to the airport, checked in then at security realised he had something (valuable) in his pocket that he wasn’t allowed to fly with. So had to run to WHSmith and buy jiffy envelope and stamps and post it home before he could board.

Huge security queue and we got stopped and bags searched. We made the plane ahead of the scheduled departure time but the pilot was apparently planning on leaving slightly early because there was a free slot and he announced that our ‘late’ boarding meant we’d missed it. We got catcalled and some unpleasant things were said by other passengers.

Happened to a mate. She and the boyf missed their flight to Zurich. They rebooked it for the next day, and missed that one as well.

I was in an airport with two scatty friends (just pre-everyone having mobiles) and they wondered off and got distracted until final call and nearly didn't make it.

It can happen if someone is arriving from abroad, and then connecting domestically. So, say I land in Heathrow and need to go through customs before boarding a flight to Edinburgh, my bags might well end up on the Edinburgh flight while I’m still stuck in the customs queue.

Or, you can do what I did when I was absolutely exhausted and 20 weeks pregnant. I’d been travelling to work every single week to City A, but at one point needed to fly instead to City B. I was lining up to board the flight to City A when I heard a firm message over the tannoy - « passenger Elbows, to gate 36 please. Last call for flight ACXYZ to City B. Final boarding call for passenger Elbows ». Whoops.

My DM almost missed a flight bc she insisted on going to the loo when boarding had already started.

She did make it though.

It happened to me (and 10 other people on the flight) in Lisbon.

We made it through security really early and didn’t realise there was a passport control before the gate. The queue was HUGE and only had one person checking passports.

When my kids were little - baby and toddler age. This happened to us.

We were waiting vigilantly for the boarding gate to appear, and when it did my toddler needed a wee so we went to the toilet. Then baby had an explosive number two that couldn't wait. We also discovered the gate was miles and miles away. It too ages to walk there with a buggy and two little ones. When we finally got to the gate they literally only just let us through. One more minute and we'd have been forbidden boarding.

We didn't do anything wrong, just struggled to get to such a far away boarding gate in the time between the gate being announced and boarding closing. I think it was Stansted!

It nearly happened to me. First flight with a friend and disgruntled realise that once they call you to board that you really need to go! Thought we had loads of time for some reason 😳

We were enjoying a drink in the bar when they called our names! Mega embarrassing but we did make the flight.

I was called by name once, terrified me! But it was a "hopper" flight, Paris/London/Newcastle/Edinburgh and I was the only person getting on at my stop!

Years ago, we turned up about 5 hours early for a flight. The airline had lost our booking (they'd changed computer system and our data had been lost in the transfer). We ended up jogging through Heathrow with some cabin crew, being fast-tracked through business-class security, and made the flight as the doors were closing.

My friend missed her flight for a VERY important work trip to Japan from Heathrow . She was there in plenty time, went to the bar to get a drink and just kind of forgot where she was. She sat reading and finished her drink (one glass of wine) , playing on her phone etc. She said afterwards she just lost track of time, like some weird time warp. Because of where she was sat she couldn’t hear any announcements. By the time she realised the time it was too late, the flight was boarded and about to depart. She was rebooked onto the flight the following day, got an absolute bolocking from work and was banned from going on international trips for a couple of years afterwards.

My mum and auntie also missed their flight to Australia, the first leg from Manchester was delayed for hours because of high winds, they were given access to one of the lounges as compensation and promptly got pissed, they had to be asked to leave the lounge 🙈. They (wrongly) assumed someone would come fetch them which is bizzare because they both fly a lot for their jobs so it’s not like they don’t know how an airport works. However luckily for them the flight boarded but didn’t take off so everyone on board has to get back off and join my mum and auntie. They took off the next day (with a massive hangover!)

I was once sat in an airport lounge reading a very good book, DH had gone off for a leisurely poo, glanced up at the clock and realised our flight left in about five minutes. No announcements in the lounges. I have never run so fast in my life. Not sure how late we were, but it was LHR so we were probably at least a thousand miles from the gate. (And that’s after standing waiting around working out what gate we were even legging it to let alone which direction they gate was in.)

And I am irritatingly organised. Glitch in the matrix that day.

I did this once. I'd been drinking before a night flight. Got to the airport and checked in. Sat down near the gate and promptly fell asleep. Woke up 4 hours later and the flight had gone it was rather embarrassing

They took our bags on the plane and escorted us out the airport. Had to pay to get a later flight.