You’re at the airport. You’ve checked in. You’ve got your boarding pass. But when you arrive at the gate prior to departure time, the door to the jetway has closed and you are denied boarding.

You’ve missed your flight. Why? It’s the unwritten 10 minute final boarding rule.

Gate agents have been told by management they can close the door to the plane 10 minutes before departure, not when the plane is ready to push back at the scheduled departure time.

The real problem is that this rule is not consistently practiced.

And the problems really occur when travelers try to make late connecting flights.

But the rule here for you is simple. It’s not enough to be checked in and with a valid boarding pass.

Get to the gate — at the very least — 20 minutes before scheduled departure time or you could easily spend the night at an airport hotel.