The Flight Left at 2:41 a.m., but the Security Line Closed at 10:45 p.m.

A Frontier Airlines flight from Miami to Atlanta, scheduled for 10:55 p.m., was delayed until 2:50 a.m. One passenger says about 60 travelers missed it after arriving before midnight to find the security checkpoint for their gate closed. He later said the affected group could have been more than 100 people.

The arithmetic is unforgiving. According to the account, Checkpoint 6, which serves gates F1 through F23 in Frontier’s concourse, is open from 3:30 a.m. to 10:45 p.m. Arriving four hours before the new 2:50 a.m. departure meant reaching the airport at 10:50 p.m., five minutes after that checkpoint closed. Checkpoint 9 stays open around the clock but serves different gates, and passengers cannot connect from it to Concourse F.

Passengers say they were told earlier that security would be open for their flight and were later told they should have arrived at 7 p.m. and waited. Frontier and the airport reportedly said there was nothing they could do. The aircraft, an Airbus A321neo, took off at 2:41 a.m. and landed in Atlanta at 4:09 a.m., more than three hours late.

There is a rule worth knowing. Federal rules provide a refund for a significantly delayed domestic flight if you decide not to travel, but it generally must be claimed before departure. Frontier does not control TSA staffing, yet it controls the messaging about a delay, and a similar August case involving Delta passengers diverted to Fort Myers shows the problem is not unique.

Sources: View from the Wing