American Airlines appears to have found a remedy for a common airport nuisance known as ‘gate lice’.
Before you panic about safeguarding your hair at the airport, rest assured that gate lice are not real lice. The term is a colloquial expression for passengers who engage in a bothersome activity prior to boarding.
This issue arises when individuals crowd around the boarding gates, attempting to board the plane before their boarding group is called, in an effort to jump the line.
For those who fly frequently, such behavior is quite bothersome, as it complicates the boarding process and adds unnecessary congestion. It detracts from the travel experience when you have to navigate through a crowd of people standing in the way.
Fortunately, American Airlines is addressing this issue by implementing a new system that prevents passengers from boarding prematurely.
According to a statement given to the Washington Post, an airline spokesperson explained: “We are in the early phase of testing new technology used during the boarding process.
“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.”
The concept is simple; the software alerts with a sound and displays a message to the gate agent if someone attempts to board with the incorrect group, indicating the correct group for the passenger.
The airline has conducted tests of this new technology at the Albuquerque and Tucson airports and is pleased with the outcomes.
It’s not only the airline that is satisfied; a Reddit user shared their experience witnessing the system in action.
“Was flying out of ABQ yesterday and saw the test boarding system for the first time,” user Rich_Ad6066 noted.
“As usual, group 1 was flooded with people, but several people ahead of me when trying to scan their boarding pass got an error beep. The gate agent proceeded to tell them ‘sir/ma’am you are group 5, please step aside’.
“Was awesome to see this enforced and looked like it was system-driven vs gate agent having to make that call.”
Other users expressed approval for the new system.
“I saw this in action yesterday. It was great. I saw about 5 people get punted out of line for trying to board before their group was called. About time!”
Another commented: “Thank the heavens.
“It’s ridiculous to have to care about this stuff but when so many people are boarding out of order or pre-boarding, and you as a group 1 or 2 are already finding limited overhead space something is wrong lol.”
A third person added: “I LOVE THIS SOOOO MUCH. I hope I see it on one of my flights soon.”