American Airlines will shame people who try to cut the boarding line with loud beeps. This is a new system that they are testing to deal with what airline employees call “gate lice.”
Gate lice are people who jump ahead of their boarding group, either to compete for overhead compartment space or due to general boarding anxiety. Some people just can’t take it. These kinds of people are the worst.
The new system will have scanning machines emit a shaming noise that everyone in the boarding area can hear. The “error beep” will alert gate agents to tell that person to “please step aside.” The system has been tested at airports in Albuquerque and Tucson and will soon expand to other locations including Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
