Flight Delayed? Why You Should Never Stray Too Far From Your Gate

20.12.2023 - 20:49 / forbes.com

I was loading my luggage into the car when I got a text that my Thanksgiving weekend flight from Denver International Airport to Palm Springs was delayed. Then, I was at the airport when I got another text message alerting me of further delays. So, with a few hours to kill, I settled into the Amex Lounge, filled up a plate with food, and started scrolling social media.

That’s when I got a text message from United that my plane was no longer delayed, and, in fact, was about to start boarding. The problem? I needed to catch the tram to another terminal, and my gate was pretty far down the concourse. It was a good thing I had my running shoes on.

One of the lesser-known facts about delays? Flight delays not only get pushed out, but they can also bump up, essentially causing flights to become “un-delayed.” This is a nugget of travel knowledge that’s helpful if you’ve ever thought you’ll just wait to leave for the airport once you get the initial delay notification or you decide to wait out your delay in a lounge or bar that’s far from your gate. Otherwise, you could miss your flight while thinking you have plenty of time to spare.

In my case, I rushed to my gate only for my flight delay to get pushed out again. But, it eventually did depart about an hour ahead of the original delay.

Here’s why airlines move up their delays and how to make sure you don’t miss your flight while waiting out a delay that’s in flux.

In Dec. 2022, the Bureau of Transportation statistics, about 69% of flights had on-time arrivals. (Here are the airports with the most holiday delays). The most common disruptors last December were air carrier delays (9.22%) and aircraft arriving late (8.95%), with weather accounting for about 1% of delays, according to the statistics.

But airlines are incentivized to get flights out on time as delays can cost them big bucks when you factor in things like overtime pay for crew members and fuel. Back in 2010, commissioned by the Federal Aviation Administration, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley found flight delays were costing the U.S. economy nearly $33 billion, with passengers bearing $16.7 billion of the cost.

The U.S. Department of Transportation this week announced that it’s penalizing Southwest Airlines $140 million for its 2022 holiday meltdown that led to 16,900 cancelled flights and several delays.

Given the costs, it’s in the airlines best interest to minimize delays.

"Flight delays can be reversed if the original cause of delay is resolved quicker than expected,” explains Anton Radchenko, the founder and CEO of AirAdvisor, a claims management company that works for air passenger rights in flight disruptions. “For example, there might be a mechanical failure or air