Earlier boarding is a sought-after privilege.

American Airlines is testing new technology that will better enforce boarding order, reports The Washington Post. The technology will play an audible noise whenever a passenger tries to board before their group is called, notifying agents to ask the passenger to step out of the boarding order until it’s their turn. 

The airline currently boards passengers in nine groups, starting with First Class passengers and top-tier frequent fliers, and slotting in the rest by seating upgrade, holders of credit card holders, passengers who pay extra for priority boarding, and others. Passengers who have purchased American’s no-frills Basic Economy fare board in Group 9. 

Most other carriers follow the same procedure, and many airlines—including American—are dogged by passengers who aren’t aware of or don’t follow the boarding order. This creates congestion in the gate area and onboard the aircraft, and dilutes the benefit of priority boarding for passengers who have paid for it or earned it with frequent flights. 

Earlier boarding is a sought-after privilege, because it’s more comfortable to board early in the process before overhead bins are full of carryon bags, and already seated passengers must be asked to move so later-arriving passengers can take their seats. On full flights, the latest boarding passengers are often unable to find space for their carryon bags, and they must be checked at the gate, delaying passengers on arrival who must now wait for their bags to arrive on the carousel. 

“We are in the early phase of testing new technology used during the boarding process,” American told The Washington Post. “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.”

American is testing the technology at airports in Albuquerque and Tucson, and will expand it to Washington DC’s Reagan National Airport and others across the system soon.

Previously, airlines could enforce boarding order because passengers handed paper boarding passes to an agent in order to board. Agents could check the group number or seat assignment to verify whether a passenger was boarding early. Now, with the rise of boarding passes on mobile devices, which passengers scan on their own, agents don’t have the time to turn passengers away before they can scan their device. Once they’ve scanned, passengers should continue boarding to allow for correct boarding counts. 

The new system will not only play a sound alerting agents that a passenger is attempting to board early, it will also reject the boarding pass from boarding, and alert the agent which group the passenger should board with. This system is already common in Europe, where many airlines use automated boarding gates similar to those used on US mass transit systems. At Oslo Airport, for example, the boarding passes won’t scan to open an automated boarding gate if a passenger attempts to board early, while an automated message displayed advises them to wait their turn. 

Airlines have long looked for ways to manage the boarding process, which is one of the most stressful points in the journey for modern air travelers. Early jets boarded First Class and Economy Class via two separate sets of stairs at the back and front of the aircraft, but as flights grew more crowded after deregulation in 1978 (when airfares dropped to within the means of the vast majority of travelers) and aircraft began boarding only from forward doors via jet bridges, it created a bottleneck.

Airlines used to manage the process in rows, from the back of the aircraft toward the front. But as frequent flier programs grew more complicated and extra fees in addition to fares grew more complex, they needed a way to stratify passengers by status. Now, airlines essentially board passengers in order of importance, although many make exceptions, allowing families, passengers with disabilities, and active-duty service members to board first, regardless of which group they’ve been assigned. 

American’s new system could alleviate frustrations among travelers over those who attempt to skirt the rules and board early, and that could make travel easier for everyone—except those who try to break the rules.