It can't be that long a delay, in the sense, that it would be the same delay if someone checked in their luggage, and did not show up a the gate. When that happens, what happens? It must happen from time to time. I set my watch for PST in flight to Chicago, when flying from London to Chicago. I then had a senior moment, and thought that the flight to LA on my voucher was PST time (per my watch), rather than Central Time, and thought when I ambled up to the gate, that I had just over 2 hours until my flight, and inquired if I could check in "early." I found it odd that the flight posted at the gate was also going to LAX. It turned out of course that "my" flight was almost fully boarded, and if I had been ten minutes later (maybe less than ten minutes if they gave my seat to some standby person on the fully booked flight), I would have missed it.
If I had missed my Chicago to LA flight, due to my mental lapse, does that mean the flight shuts down, until they get my luggage out of the cargo hold(which was where it was since it was transfered from the London to Chicago flight), if I had chosen instead to more fully savor at my leisure the joys of the intricacies of O'Hare airport?