In this specific case, the door was open with the jet bridge safely attached. The FA were not providing any specific instructions. It was the ground personnel that were blocking the exit and instructing me that I could not leave. The ground person was also not the GA (although he maneuvered the jet bridge and opened the door). I did not have any checked bags. When the supervisor showed up a couple of min. later, he was very polite and said it was our choice to leave and in fact he would do the same and wished me luck in making my meeting. I was glad that I did not push the issue as this was an much shorter and pleasant route to go.

The question still remain - is it legal to keep you on the plane against your wishes when it is safe to exit? Who can do this? FA? Captain?