Never practice and do not support airport theory challenge

The internet is full of pranksters testing how gullible some people are.

I wouldn't say "pranksters". I would say this is more of a "magical thinking" thing. Tik-toc, and much of the World, is full of them.
edit: Like the "one weird trick" thing, Lifehacks, magical Productivity tricks, etc.

And for people confused about the subject, more details:

https://www.oregonlive.com/trending/2025/03/airport-theory-trend-is-causing-people-to-miss-flights-at-pdx-theres-no-reason-to-risk-it.html

I'm generalizing here, but I don't think this forum attracts that kind of audience.

I see people missing their flights at airports all the time, and I am pretty sure they aren't testing the airport theory challenge...what do the challenge proponents purport as the benefit of doing this? Bragging rights?

What's next, a "run the red light" challenge?

I dont think many airlines hold planes for late comers in the vast majority of cases anymore. So if someone is stupid enough to try something this moronic, they deserve to stand and wave as their flight leaves without them.

Finally the people who do this play with the time of others because if the crew waits for this checked-in passengers their given time slot to leave the gate position and roll to start runway might be over. If this slot is missing the plane must stay at position, request a new slot and wait until the next time slot is given by the tower.

That's the way it is done in Europe. In the US, takeoff slots are first come, first served. That's why you can sometimes get an early pushback. It happened to me a few days ago.

I think this is a stupid practice, but I have no interest in speaking out against it, nor do I understand getting upset about it. The consequences (missing the flight) seem to me like a sufficient disincentive. And airlines don't wait; if you're not there, the plane leaves.

You can try the late arrival theory, but most likely you will end up like this couple

https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/miami-international-airport-mia-passengers-arrests-mexico-flight/

That's the way it is done in Europe. In the US, takeoff slots are first come, first served. That's why you can sometimes get an early push-back. It happened to me a few days ago.

I cannot imagine that US ATC with such a full and route-regulated sky gives OK without full clearance delivery, means that all slots (ground, take-off and route) are checked before the give free/OK for the flight. Therefore the next ready flight on ground could not always the next getting OK for push-back. Curios what an US air traffic controller would say how it is practiced.

And I know what you mean: I had several flights in my life when pilots were telling the passengers to sit down in the next 3 minutes to achieve an earlier slot for take-off.

I remember also the early days of AirBerlin when one of their pilots said that the flight is expected to land 10 minutes earlier than expected and he wants the passengers to see that as a little time credit because the next delay will come sooner or later.

You can believe what you want but that is how it's done. (I had a pilot's license.) You file your flight plan. When you are ready to go, you let them know and they tell you if it's okay. You do not get a time slot prior to your flight being ready as they do in Europe.

Former US military air traffic controller here.

One of the biggest differences between the EU and the US is 'flow control'. The EU has it, the US generally doesn't. Flow control is what gives Speedbird 101 a specific departure time out of LHR, for example.

Usually in the US there are very limited departure restrictions - some airports there might be but usually not.