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American Airlines appears to be keeping its promise of not letting pesky “gate lice” passengers board a plane before it’s their turn.
A flight passenger and Reddit user took to the social media platform to share a recent airport story about an American Airlines gate agent who held up the airline’s strong crackdown against “gate lice.”
The recent flyer, writing on the subreddit thread r/americanairlines, applauds a gate agent at the Pensacola, Florida, airport who strongly enforced the correct boarding zone.
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“A wonderful gate agent this morning at PNS was actively turning away folks from boarding whose zones had not been called,” the Reddit user wrote.
American Airlines is continuing to crack down on people trying to board planes early by enforcing zones. (iStock)
“The flustered and angry zone 9 passenger attempting to board with zone 5 was a hoot,” the user added.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Reddit user for comment.
“Gate lice” refers to passengers who attempt to cut the line and board the plane earlier than their proper boarding zone.
American Airlines has been working on this preventable problem by experimenting with technology that notifies gate agents about flight passengers boarding outside their zone.
“The new technology is designed to ensure customers receive the benefits of priority boarding with ease and helps improve the boarding experience by providing greater visibility into boarding progress for our team,” an American Airlines spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital reached out to American Airlines for additional comment.
A Reddit user (not pictured) says they witnessed firsthand how strict American Airlines is with its new technology that is prohibiting flyers from boarding out of turn. (iStock)
The technology “provides team members with more insight into the number of customers in each boarding group” and “displays anticipated arrival time for incoming flight connections,” according to the airline’s site.
The alert system has not been fully implemented in all airports yet, but a slow rollout appears to be underway across the country.
The airline has actively been calling out flight passengers who are jumping ahead in line and boarding prior to their correct zones.
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“Sounds like AA has been enforcing it more and more of late. This is at least the 5th post [I’ve] seen about this over the past few months,” another Reddit user commented in the thread.
Reddit users are continuing to talk about the “gate lice” problem at airports and noticed that American Airlines is alerting passengers about the new technology and protocol. (iStock)
“They have been announcing it before the boarding that they have ‘upgraded’ their scanners to enforce groups. I think I started hearing them say it in January,” another user wrote.
Other social media users on X are commenting on the new alert system that is being implemented.
“It’s always been a dirty little secret that boarding zones are not part of your boarding pass QR code, so when you scan your pass at the gate, the gate agent has no idea what zone you’re in unless they visually look at it,” an X user wrote.
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“The only people that will have a problem with this ARE THE PROBLEM,” another X user wrote.
Boarding zones are being enforced by American Airlines, and a Reddit user (not pictured) shared their recent “gate lice” encounter at the airport. (iStock)
The “gate lice” alert system was first launched in November, just before the busy holiday travel season.
“The initial positive response from customers and team members has exceeded our expectations, so we are thrilled to leverage this technology to deliver for them ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday,” Julie Rath, American’s senior vice president of airport operations, reservations and service recovery, said in the press release issued in 2024.
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This new technology will reportedly continue to be seen at more and more American Airlines gates, with the intent of keeping everyone in their correct boarding zone and not skipping the line.
Jacqueline Whitmore, a former flight attendant and etiquette expert based in Mount Dora, Florida, told Fox News Digital that she is in support of the airlines’ latest tactic.
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“I see this new procedure as a good thing. It will help expedite the boarding process and keep people honest,” Whitmore said.
