Originally Posted by
GEvan
I was flying from Cartagena, Colombia to Fort Lauderdale, and arrived 55 minutes before scheduled takeoff...
Originally Posted by
GEvan
...as the policy was for check-in to take place an hour before takeoff.
You showed up late and they refused to check you in. Pretty simple. I agree, the excuses they used were pretty weak, but either way you were late.
Originally Posted by
GEvan
Did they really not know about these mechanical problems when the plane arrived the night before?
No, I highly doubt they did. If they were aware of a maintanance problem the night prior, they would've fixed it. Sometimes, just like a car, for what ever reason the engine just doesn't want to start (for example) and you only find that out when you get in the car and try to start it up.