There are flights that are delayed and then there are flights going absolutely nowhere at all.

If your flight is delayed long enough, the cockpit or cabin crew will exhaust their maximum number of legally allowed duty hours. And no one is flying anywhere.

If you’re boarding a flight that’s already been delayed, it’s in your best interest to ask a member of the flight crew to tell you how much more time they have left before they “time out,” before you walk down that jetway.

If you’re flying from an airport where that airline is not based, then there may not be much of a point to getting on the plane.

Keep your options open. Talk to the gate agent, and try to rebook as soon as possible.