Closed counter

[AvEnthusiast]

G'day Guys,

I just want to know if it is really impossible to issue a boarding pass after the counter is closed?
Actually the other day I had a flight with Cebu Pacific on domestic flight and the flight departure time was 02:40 pm and I just arrived at the airport by 02:03 but they said they close the counter 45 min before the flight. And I was going lite, but they didn't issue me the boarding pass. And there were 20 people who came after me, but they had the boarding passes and one out of the 20 I think didn't have the boarding pass so there was an argument going on between them that they came late and blah blah but I think they issued a boarding pass for one. And I told them that when these guys are boarding I can board the a/c as well. I'm not delaying the a/c schedule and am going lite with no baggage and nothing if those guys can board the plan I can do it as well, but they didn't issue me the boarding pass and told me that the counter is closed and the can not enter back to the system issue me a boarding pass.
I was really hurt. So I just want to know if someone knows if it is really like that.

[VS-LHRCSA]

Sounds to me that the flight was closed, which is usually happens around 45 mins prior to departure. They need this time to finalise numbers and finish paperwork, etc. Even though you may have no luggage, if you have presented yourself after flight closure, it can be difficult to re-open and for many reasons, varying between airlines, they cannot check-in anyone after that. A lot airlines have a policy of not accepting late comers as it can cause delays.

Re-printing a boarding card is a different matter entirely and can usually be done up until departure, which is what sounds like happened if one of the party didn't have one. If they accepted him for check-in at the boarding stage, then they could have checked you in at the same time because they would have already disrupted the flight closure. If it just a matter of this pax not having a boarding pass, which can happen, then a simple re-print is possible.

[Final 3 Greens]

AvEnthusiast

The same thing happened to me a couple of years ago.

I was late through no fault of my own, but equally the airline was clear about the latest check in time and it wasn't their fault that I was late, either.

I accepted the situation and took the next available flight.

VS-LHRCSA gives the airline industry details, from a pax perspective, if one turns up at -37 mins and the airline states the flight closes at -45 mins, you are placing yourself at the mercy of the airline and if they say no, you have to accept that, IMO.

[Capot]

Of course its possible to accept a late passenger after the flight has closed. The difference between now and a time when ground staff did all possible to satisfy a customer is that staff are poorly trained and given no discretion or power to do that.

We used the LMC frequently, but then we did a manual loadsheet which was simple and quick. Possibly the curse of IT has struck again making the procedure now cumbersome and inflexible. Maybe not.

The critical path these days is probably the security bottleneck, for which every airport that has one should be deeply ashamed and do something about it instead of making wet excuses for doing nothing.

[VS-LHRCSA]

Possible, perhaps but what if you're meant to be at the gate after flight closure? You've got UMs to escort, or an INAD to pre-board, etc.

Both airlines I've worked on the ground for had strict flight closure times for very good reason. Believe me, there were plenty of times I wished I could accept latecomers - whatever their reason - but have not been able to.