Why do
airlines shut the door 10 minutes before departure time? Have you been told that the connecting flight will be held for you? Why does an airline close the door when they know your inbound flight was late?
1.) Air Traffic Control (ATC). There are time slots filed for each flight. If that slot is missed, you go to the end of the line for take off.
2.) Crew Schedules. The Pilots and the Flight Attendants have a duty time restriction. They can only be on a flight so many hours (they must have rest time). Time starts when the aircraft door is shut. If we are delayed, they could run out of duty time (mandated by the FAA). If that happens, the flight will cancel or be delayed waiting for a reserve crew.
3.) Dependability. Airlines have very tight schedules, Every minute counts. There are other flights waiting to come to the gate. So waiting just an extra 5 minutes can have a domino effect on the entire day.
4.) Seats are dropped and seats are giving to travelers on stand-by.
5.) Agents have to put in the final numbers (passenger count and bag count) so the flight crew can have the correct weights for take off.
Enjoy the journey
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