Can airport gates be double-booked? Arrival and departure gates are listed as the same
Tomorrow I am flying from BWI to ORD (flight NK761), then ORD to MSY (flight NK815). Right now 761 is listed as arriving at gate L11. Flight 815 is listed as departing from gate L11. 761 lands at ORD at 7:35am... 815 is supposed to depart at 8:05am, which is cutting it close, but shouldn't be an issue as long as my first flight is not delayed.
My question is, how can two different flights, with overlapping arrival/departure times, be scheduled for the same gate? What if we aren't able to deplane from my first flight because my second flight is at the gate and boarding?
Best Answer
According to flightradar24 the aircraft with registration N529NK flew BWI-ORD-MSY on Mar 22. On March 23 N521NK is/was scheduled to fly BWI-ORD but due to disruption landed in BOS 15 hours late. Hence its schedule for today doesn't make much sense.
It is scheduled to fly BOS-BWI and land in BWI at 9:06am and then miraculously take off at 06:17 to fly BWI-ORD. Either the flight will be delayed or another aircraft will fly this route.
In summary, the reason for the same gate is that it was supposed to be the same aircraft. Whether it will be is another question.
Update: It seems N521NK did fly BWI-ORD (NK761) but unfortunately landed two hours late leading to the missed connection to ORD-MSY (NK815) which was operated by N506NK. I suspect that lead to the OP spending rather a long day at various airports today.
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Are departure and arrival gates the same?
International arrival gates usually have the ability to route passengers to customs and immigration so that they don't mingle with departing passengers and domestic arrivals. Domestic arriving passengers just go into the departure gate area, and from there can make their way to baggage claim.How are gates allocated at airports?
Some airports assign blocks of gates to specific airlines, and they then assign them to flights (usually on an as-needed or first-come-first-serve basis). Other airports assign them all themselves, again usually on an as-needed or first-come-first-serve basis.Are airport gates and terminals the same?
Gates are the location in an airport that allow you to both: Wait for your flight, and enter/exit the aircraft. Terminals are a collection of gates.Learn to Read this Piece of Paper (Don’t Get Lost!!!!!)
More answers regarding can airport gates be double-booked? Arrival and departure gates are listed as the same
Answer 2
L is a new set of gates for American Eagle at ORD.
It is not uncommon to see Eagle flights blocked for only 30 minutes at the gate.
99%, the aircraft that operates BWI-ORD will also be operating the ORD-MSY flight.
Answer 3
What if we aren't able to deplane from my first flight because my second flight is at the gate and boarding?
Then the ground ops controllers at the airport will either hold your inbound flight on a taxiway or at a hold point until the gate has cleared, or reassign your inbound flight to another gate, or park you at a remote stand and bus you to the terminal.
Gate assignments are in no way fixed in stone - they can change at a moments notice. Often at busy airports, aircraft will get assigned a gate once they have landed and are taxiing to the terminal.
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