Originally Posted by
orbitmic
With the current staffing problems, I’ve had multiple experiences of flights boarding early and closing right on time (even sometimes on delayed flights) so boarding staff could move to the next flight, so I wouldn’t take the risk of arriving after t-20 these days unless delay is explicit. Boarding starts when it starts and ends as soon as possible, but staff don’t have time to linger around at the gate as they used to so to me this is not a risk worth taking.
How does that work? It is not as if gate staff can go away and leave passengers to board the plane on their own an hour later when the delayed plane arrives. Gate staff (or at any rate at least one gate staff) necessarily have to remain at the gate until the flight is boarded and doors closed (otherwise it would create all sorts of security issues).