Originally Posted by
flyinbob
Possible at smaller stations, but I've never seen every single gate occupied at DEN, SFO, ORD, IAD, or most other large airports.
I've landed at every one of those airports and waited for a gate at least once because all gates were occupied. IME, this is a not-infrequent situation at ORD, DEN, and LAX. The last time it happened to me at SFO, it was because we arrived nearly an hour early from IAD thanks to favorable winds. We actually parked at the international terminal and disembarked there to avoid what would have been (we were told by the captain) at least a 45 minute wait.