Fort Worth-based American Airlines is testing a new system to catch passengers who try to sneak ahead in line. According to the NY Post, the airline is piloting a program that issues an audible "error" beep when someone tries to board before their official boarding group has been called.

Passengers who try to board early will not only hear a beep when they scan their boarding pass, but a tattletale message will pop up on the scanner, alerting the American Airlines employee of the passenger's correct group.

A statement from American Airlines says that “We are in the early phase of testing new technology used during the boarding process," and that "the new technology is designed to ensure customers receive the benefits of priority boarding with ease and helps improve the boarding experience by providing greater visibility into boarding progress for our team."

According to the NY Post story, airline employees have a name for these people: “gate lice."

Surely a factor is the way American Airlines' current boarding system has beome an exercise in the haves vs. the have-nots, with nine levels of boarding groups, from elite status members and credit card holders all the way down to the Basic Economy nobodies. It's gotten worse since the pandemic, with extra charges applied to every element of flying, including a charge if you want to choose your own seat.

As an explanation of why people might do it, the story references a theory that travelers try to get ahead "out of a tendency of conformity and a sense of competition."

In this case, there is an actual valid reason for trying to get a jump in line, and that can be summed up in two words: overhead bins.

Too many travelers place their luggage in overhead bins that are not located over their seats. Who has not seen the guy breezily stash his suitcase in whatever bin is closest? And this is an inequity that is not addressed by flight attendants, who admittedly have enough on their hands.

But the fact remains that if you get on the plane when your boarding group boards, the odds are slimmer that your designated overhead bin is going to have room for your suitcase.

If the airline is not going to enforce the overhead bin situation, then it's hardly fair to blame gate lice for worrying about where their suitcase is going to end up — or worse, whether they'll face the horror of having to get their bag checked at the last minute because some other passenger stole their overhead space.

The new system is currently being tested at airports in Albuquerque and Tucson, with plans to expand to other locations such as Washington DC.