One platinum member this week is furious that they were pulled from a flight for arriving at the gate 15 minute prior to departure time. This resulted in our member having to fork out an additional $120 to catch a later flight.
It would seem that Virgin made little effort to track our traveler down before closing the gate. The regular protocol being paged over the speaker may or may not have occurred.
The experience, whilst frustrating, has provided our members some valuable hints and tips on boarding.
Firstly, always verify your boarding time on your boarding pass and ensure that you go to the gate at the prescribed time. Second, if visiting the lounge, don’t rely on lounge staff to page you for your flight, irrespective of your status, the responsibility to arrive at the gate on time is yours. Third, don’t rely on the monitors in the lounge, to be safe it is best to always arrive at your scheduled gate at least 20 minutes prior to departure.
Virgin have agreed to further investigate this matter for our unhappy member. Follow developments HERE.
