Ridiculous Reasons People Miss Flights, According to Gate Agents
Photo by Getty Images. Designed by Erik Mace for Yahoo Travel
By Barbara Woolsey
People miss flights for all kinds of reasons. And when they do, it’s usually the gate agent who listens to the sob story or bears the brunt of a childish tantrum. Or sometimes, it’s actually the gate agent who — for one reason or another — kept them OFF the plane in the first place. But what are some of the specific reasons why passengers fail to make a flight? Here are a few of the most absurd, as told by the gate agents themselves.
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Credit: Shutterstock
This photo looks nothing like you
“I once had to deny a woman from boarding because her I.D. photo just looked nothing like her. She told me she had cosmetic surgery lately, and didn’t have time to get the photo changed. It was probably true, her lips did look like a pair of gigantic wine gums. But there was no way I could prove it was her in time!”
Sorry, ma'am, no short shorts allowed on this flight
“I once had to refuse a female passenger from boarding because her shorts were way too obscenely short.”
Credit: Shutterstock
Booze, of course
“I once had to deny a passenger from flying because he was so drunk he knocked over a display stand at a duty-free.”
“This girl, she was probably only 21 years old, came up for boarding. She looked pretty queasy, and I asked if she was okay. She told me she’d been drinking the night before, and I actually found that honesty refreshing so I let her board. But then it turns out she threw up on somebody’s suitcase in the transfer bus.”
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What is that smell?
“We once had to deny a passenger boarding because he just smelled so bad. Like seriously, so funky. The other passengers just couldn’t handle it.”
Ask yourself: “Am I at the correct gate?”
“A female passenger was scheduled to leave on a 5:45 a.m. flight. She missed it, so I transferred her to the next flight at 6:15 a.m. She also missed that flight, arriving at the gate just as the aircraft door closed. Apparently, she had been sitting at the wrong gate… twice.”
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