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Originally Posted by Greginnd
A couple of years ago I was flying NRT - DTW - MSP - FAR. We arrived on time in Detroit but the flight to MSP was delayed due to weather in Minneapolis. The flight kept getting pushed back later and later and I feared I wouldn't make it home that day. Finally we took off but about 3/4 of the way to MSP we were diverted. It was my lucky day - we were diverting to Fargo. There were three of us with a final destination at FAR and they pulled up to the gate and let us off. I actually arrived home earlier than my scheduled time. I was afraid I would have been stuck in MSP overnight after being on the ground 10 minutes away from my waiting bed.
I was very (pleasantly) surprised that I was able to get off the plane. I have been on other flights to MSP that were diverted to FAR and every time that happened I was never allowed off the plane. I had to sit on the tarmac and wait, fly back to MSP and find a flight back to FAR. I understand at some airports gates are busy or cannot accommodate some types of aircraft. But that is not the case in Fargo.
I've had divert situations where passengers have gotten off, but there are some cases where their checked bags might not be removed (i.e. the bags would continue to the original destination). It takes no time to let passengers deplane, but removing specific bags can take a half hour or longer. There is often a critical time element to getting the plane refueled (for example) and on its way to the original destination and in these cases they're not going to hunt for bags.
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Other times when trying to make connections I arrived at the gate just as the door was closing and was denied boarding because the "door was closed". I have even sat and watched planes sitting at the gate for an additional 15 minutes or more with the door closed and not be allowed to get on. I have noticed doors getting closed well ahead of scheduled departure times more frequently lately.
This is all part of the push to achieve good "on-time" numbers for the DOT rankings. They have a cut-off time so that the load planners can put together the final numbers (passenger and baggage load) for the takeoff performance data. We (pilots) sometimes get asked later by the Chief Pilot whey we pushed back 2 minutes late! They want it on schedule.
Being on time to the plane is an understandable requirement for the originating passenger (though they sometimes encounter excessive TSA delays out of their control), but I feel bad for connecting passengers whose first flight is delayed, causing them to be late for the connection.
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These incidents get me wondering how much the pilot controls in this. Do the gate agents and/or flight attendants make these decisions?
Pilots have zero input into this process. Same for flight attendants. This is the domain of the gate agents and they are under the gun to get their flights out on time. The Captain can stick his nose in — the four stripes gives him a lot of authority. But he does so at his peril. Get into a pissing match with a gate agent and you'll hear about it later.
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Are there specific regulations regarding letting people on/off under these situations? And what reasons are there for simply not opening the door for someone given plenty of time to do so?
No, this all comes under company policy (and the discretion of the gate agent). But once that door is closed and the rotating beacon is on, the "out" time has been recorded. If the door is now opened, an "in" time will be logged and the subsequent out time will be late. Those stats are important to the airlines. No one wants to be grist for the
USA Today airline-bashing mill.
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Is the pilot informed or asked about these situations?
Almost never.
I once got involved in one of these situations and I'm surprised I didn't get written up by the gate agent. I was trying to non-rev home from Atlanta and I showed up (in uniform) at the gate for the flight I wanted to hop on. I was early and the gate area was empty. The gate marquee still showed the previous flight.
While I stood there, two passengers (not together) ran up to the gate, out of breath, and asked if they could still get on their flight. It was still almost ten minutes prior to the posted departure time, but there was no gate agent. I told them I would check to see what was going on.
I let myself through to the jetway and found the gate agent at the open aircraft door with the paperwork in her hand. I told her there were two passengers at the gate asking if they could get on. She told me "It's up the Captain." I walked three feet over to the Captain's window and tapped on it. He opened his window and I told him about the two passengers and asked if they could get on. He said "It's up to the agent." I told him that she had said it was his call and he said "Put 'em on!"
Those two passengers were very happy, but as I left the gate I wondered if I would get a "see me" note out of this. I never heard a word about it.