You’ve dropped off your bags, made it through security, and now you’re just waiting to board.
But, instead of relaxing with an overpriced drink at an airport bar, you’re glued to the departure board, hoping your gate number finally appears.
Gate anxiety – or gateanxiety – is the all-too-familiar stress of checking the screen in fear you’ll miss one of the many updates, from the ‘go to gate’ announcement to a random gate change, and end up having to sprint across the airport, or worse, miss your flight.
But if you’re constantly craning your neck to see if there’s an update, a new digital boarding pass is about to make life much easier.
Spain’s biggest airline, Iberia, is launching a real-time updating boarding pass.
Unlike the static digital and printed boarding passes we’re used to, these passes automatically update if there are any changes to your boarding gate or seat.
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While some boarding passes will include a gate number alongside other essential flight information, like the seat number and flight time, some airports don’t assign gates until closer to the departure time.
Rather than check the nearest board, all passengers need to do is look at their phone. They’ll also receive push notifications on their device with updated information.
The new boarding passes are intended to ‘enhance customer experience’ and speed up boarding times at the airport.
They’ll be available to those using the Iberia app, and to anyone who downloads their boarding passes to their digital wallet from Iberia’s website.
It will come as a welcome update to the many travellers who have shared their experience of gate anxiety on social media.
One TikTok user, @belissa27, asked her followers: ‘Does anyone else have to physically see your gate at the airport before you can relax and get food, or are you normal?’
The post received hundreds of comments from people who experienced similar anxieties.
‘As soon as I get to the airport, I have to go down and find my gate, making sure the gate number matches my ticket. I can’t relax until they both match up.’
Another user, @classless_wanderers, captioned a video: ‘Only seasoned travellers know: before you relax, before you eat, before you pee – check if your gate is real.’
User @jenngstyle shared the same thought in another video. She captioned it: ‘Walking to my gate before turning around to get drinks/ snacks because for no reason at all, I feel better if I see where my gate is first.’
She added: ‘I can’t be the only one with this level of anxiety.’
One user, @goochybird, asked in the comments: ‘What kind of monster wouldn’t do that?’
While @anamontes124 added: ‘One time I thought it was “right there” and it was a whole terminal away. Always go to the gate first.’
The new boarding pass is just one example of Iberia introducing technology to improve customer experience.
Last month, the airline launched ‘Iberia GPT’, a conversational assistant in ChatGPT that helps customers plan and personalise their trips. It also has a new app for those with hearing and verbal communication difficulties.
Iberia was also one of the first to partner with Apple to allow passengers to use AirTags or other tracking devices in their checked luggage to help locate lost bags.
Passengers can share the location link of their AirTag with Iberia, in the hopes they’ll be able to track it down quicker.
Several other airlines implemented the AirTag technology earlier this year, including Lufthansa, which previously banned the use of them in 2022 over security concerns.
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