My friends who went out early last Saturday morning were appreciative of the advice and got there good and early. They heard stories from other pax of delays.
However, the delay they encountered was at Gate 1. Pax all queued and ready to go but no bus. "Since we can see the aircraft 100+/- yards away, can we not walk?" Apparently not. So the flight left late and would have started knock on delays for the rest of the day.
Is this an 'Elf n Safety gone mad' moment, or thoroughly good reason? I walked to/from the gates dozens of times in the last 30 years.