American Airlines might finally have a solution to an annoying pest at airports unflatteringly referred to as ‘gate lice’.
Now, you don’t need to go worrying that you need to protect your luscious hair while travelling through the airport.
Gate lice aren’t *actual* lice, but rather a slang term for people who have quite a frustrating habit right before boarding planes.
It is when passengers gather right in front of the boarding gates and attempt to get on the plane, despite their boarding group not yet being called, in hopes of beating the queue and getting on before they are supposed to.
Gate lice are probably shaking in fear right now (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
For frequent flyers, people who do this have become quite a nuisance, as it can make boarding more confusing and just busier in general. Not exactly traveling in style if you have to make your way through a whole hoard of people just in the way.
Well, worry not, because American Airlines seems to have come to the rescue, as they are in the process of implementing a new system so passengers can’t board early.
In a statement to the Washington Post, a spokesperson for the airline said: “We are in the early phase of testing new technology used during the boarding process.
“The new technology is designed to ensure customers receive the benefits of priority boarding with ease and helps improve the boarding experience by providing greater visibility into boarding progress for our team.”
It sounds straightforward enough; if someone tries to board with the wrong group, the software gives an audible signal and shows the gate agent a message with the correct group they should be in.
The airline has reportedly tested the new technology at the Albuquerque and Tucson airport and is happy with the results.
The airline isn’t the only one satisfied with the system, as a recent post on Reddit saw a user explain they had seen it in real-time.
“Was flying out of ABQ yesterday and saw the test boarding system for the first time,” user Rich_Ad6066 said.
Pointlessly busy boarding gates could be a thing of the past (Getty Stock Images)
“As usual, group 1 was flooded with people, but several people ahead of me when trying to scan their boarding pass got an error beep. The gate agent proceeded to tell them ‘sir/ma’am you are group 5, please step aside’.
“Was awesome to see this enforced and looked like it was system-driven vs gate agent having to make that call.”
Other people also commented their praise for the new system.
“I saw this in action yesterday. It was great. I saw about 5 people get punted out of line for trying to board before their group was called. About time!”
Another said: “Thank the heavens.
“It’s ridiculous to have to care about this stuff but when so many people are boarding out of order or pre-boarding, and you as a group 1 or 2 are already finding limited overhead space something is wrong lol.”
A third commented: “I LOVE THIS SOOOO MUCH. I hope I see it on one of my flights soon.”