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Taking off the plane: When the gate closes, those arriving late have to hope for goodwill
Photo: Mike Stewart / AP
If you arrive too late at the gate at the airport, you are no longer entitled to the flight - even if the plane is still there and takes off late.
This was decided by the Munich District Court in a judgment.
It dismissed a vacationer's lawsuit against a Munich tour operator.
The woman and her partner wanted to leave Frankfurt Airport on a package tour to Egypt in March 2019.
However, they were refused entry into the plane at the gate on the grounds that boarding had already ended.
According to the court, the boarding time on the flight tickets was 4:55 p.m. and the departure time was 5:25 p.m.
Luggage was unloaded separately
In fact, the plane did not leave the gate until 5:39 p.m. - because the travelers' luggage that was already on the plane had to be unloaded.
The plaintiff then booked a new flight - and reclaimed the costs for it from the travel company.
She says the airline shouldn't have turned her back at the gate.
But if she was allowed to, the judge decided (Az. 275 C 17530/19).
According to the court ruling, the travelers had appeared at the gate at 5.14 p.m., less than 12 minutes before the scheduled departure.
»An arrival 18 minutes after the stated boarding time« is »no longer in time«.
"The travelers knew that boarding time was at 4:55 pm, there is no minimum boarding time," the judge said.
"The airline in question is free to determine the end of boarding according to its processes and the preparatory measures that have yet to be taken." That is why boarding does not have to be guaranteed by the time the aircraft leaves the gate.
"The fact that in exceptional cases, even after the aircraft doors have been closed, passengers are still admitted, does not contradict this," said the final judgment.
The exception confirms the rule: "If a general claim existed, a significant disruption to air traffic would be expected."
mik / dpa