A TikTok video has gone viral showing a couple and their toddler being denied boarding their flight after arriving at the gate two and a half minutes late. The incident, involving American Airlines, left the couple unable to fly from Miami, with standby passengers taking their place.
In the video, which has garnered 4.1 million views, Miss Bauer confronts the airline staff at the gate. She captioned the clip: “Flight open and they gave our seats to someone else, even though we have a… child with us. What a shame American Airlines.”
Miss Bauer can be heard asking, “So you’re going to give our seats out to them?” to which the airline worker replies, “Yes I am. It’s 12 minutes and 27 seconds until departure.”
Miss Bauer insists, “It’s still open. I’m executive platinum, you know that right? I’m executive platinum here, and you’re giving my ticket to somebody else. Wait. The plane is open, you’re just giving our seats out.”
The airline worker responds that she should know the rules as an executive platinum member. Miss Bauer’s husband adds, “If [the flight] was closed you wouldn’t be giving them to anyone else.”
The standby couple, who had been reallocated the tickets, board the plane while Miss Bauer, her toddler, and her partner are left at the gate. Miss Bauer expresses her frustration, “They let them in. We were just behind them and they give our seats out. Can you believe that? With our kid and everything here.”
Miss Bauer claims American Airlines hasn’t satisfactorily resolved her complaint about the March 21 incident. They reportedly responded to her email on April 28, stating that no compensation was available due to a misconduct report.
In a follow-up video, Miss Bauer admits she got frustrated and loud but insists she was not disrespectful, aggressive, or using foul language. She explains that initially, she was calm when told they had missed the flight but grew upset upon learning their seats were given to others.
Many TikTok commenters sided with Miss Bauer, sharing similar experiences with airlines. Jasmine Shrestha commented, “I missed my international flight! Gate was open but they were like nope you can’t… I was delayed 18 hours.”
However, some believed the couple was at fault. One commenter wrote, “Dumb**s, get to your gate on time! Did they purchase the plane and all the seats on that flight?” Another said, “Play stupid games, win stupid prizes,” while someone else added, “Yeah don’t throw the ‘I’m an executive platinum’ when you can’t follow the rules.”
American Airlines’ website states, “Most flights start boarding 30 to 50 minutes before scheduled departure, but the exact time depends on your destination and plane. Boarding ends 15 minutes before departure. If you’re not on board, we may reassign your seat to another passenger. You will not be allowed to board once the doors close.”
Flight attendant Mariah on TikTok commented on the situation, saying, “Just because the plane is physically there doesn’t mean that you can still board it. There is a reason why you can only check in up until a certain time before your flight takes off. For most airlines, the flight closes 15 minutes before departure, which means if you’re not there before the 15 minutes… the flight is leaving without you. Get to your gate as soon as possible. You missed your flight. Be better next time.”
