> there are plenty of cases where it's possible to know the gate ahead of time exactly, sometimes even flight radar tells you the gate, but the main displays

> there are plenty of cases where it's possible to know the gate ahead of time exactly, sometimes even flight radar tells you the gate, but the main displays in the airport will tell you the gate number only 30 minutes before: Istanbul (IST) is my main reference here: what I do is I just go to any personnel and gently ask for the gate for my flight telling them I need to sit down and rest: they quickly check and tell me. I have no proof, but I do believe that those 30 mins only advance notification are planned so not to have me sitting down in a comfortable chair for hours not spending money.