Gate Lice

There are a few things that grate on an airline workers nerves. Avoiding them can make you stand out like a superhero.

As the title implies, this is nit picking. A rude passenger that ends up on social media would not take the time to read a blog about how to navigate through their trip. I’m not writing to rude passengers. I’m about to blow some small things out of proportion here. Please know, that if you accidentally do anything I am about to mention, no one is going to cancel you. But, now that you are in the know with the rest of us, you can silently judge with us.

You know that “Wait Here" sign at the end of the line at the check in counter? Yeah. Wait there. I know the person in front of you is long gone, but they may have arrived too late for their bag to make their flight, and the agent has to document that they have explained to the passenger that they will have to come back to the airport themselves to get the delayed bag when it arrives on the next flight. The agent has a lot of documenting to do so their boss will not yell at them for letting a passenger with a bag on a flight past the cut off time. Not all gate agents can do this, but that’s a topic for next week.

If someone came up to me right after that person left, I would say something like, “I have to finish this first, and it will take me about fifteen minutes. If you want to wait, I would be happy to help you, but it would be faster for you to go back to the front of the line and wait for the next available agent”. For some of my colleagues, that was too many words. They might say something like, “No, I’m not ready yet. Go back”. My way also had the occasional person that wanted to wait and hover. As they saw people behind them getting served and leaving, they would get frustrated.

Then there is always the person who waits where they should, but is too engrossed with their phone to notice they are being called up. To be honest, I prefer the phone person to the anxious hoverer. I’d step out from behind the counter and walk them up.

Up at the gate, there is what we call “gate lice”. These are the people convinced that blocking wheelchairs is the best way to lay claim to overhead bin space. We get it. There are only carry ons and delayed bags. (Topic for week after next.) However, no amount of hovering will get you on the plane before your boarding group.

Some of the most egregious of this were first class passengers that knew me by name because they were traveling regularly. They wouldn’t sit. They chatted at me while I was under a time crunch, never sat down, and blocked wheelchairs blatantly going out of their way to try and go around them for pre-boarding.

Of course, we treat the rude passengers nicely and never complain about this to them. You are reading this to figure out how to travel with less stress and avoid being unintentionally rude.

How to Travel Politely

If you do not have gifts or a flexible schedule to make your gate agent happy, you can still make their day a bit brighter. Wait until you are called, and sit until your boarding group is called. It may sound simple, but judging by the infestations… It must be really hard!

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