[mars6423]

its not NW fault, they have to close check in an hour before and in many cases its for legal issues and/or passanger comfort

if there wasnt a cut-off than people would try to catch a flight 20mins before it takes off and it would create delays, frustrated customers, annoyed staff (both airport and the airline) and it is alot more hastle than you think

They have to get your bags on the flight, they may be randomly searched, and if there is a problem than they need to allow a little time to fix it or it can delay the flight for a period of time, while other flyers are sitting due to someone checking in late.

If you didnt know that there was a cut off time than you should have read the details when you booked the flight and reserved the seats as many airlines will say it on their website and/or ticket. Also it is almost common knowledge that there is a cutoff time

The employee should have and could have been more helpfull but its your responsibility to get to the check in desk ontime....also if you call the airline desk ahead of time they could help you and are more understanding......i was driving my mom to the airport to go to Singapore on Singapore Airlines and we were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic for hours and we left with plenty of time, we would have arrived at the airport 3hours before the cutoff but we knew she was going to miss the flight so we called Singapore Airlines and they changed her flight to 3 days later since all the other flights were full due to the time of year