Remember when you could actually walk someone all the way to their airport gate even if you weren’t flying? More than two decades after 9/11 changed airport security, a new TSA pilot program is bringing a little bit of that back.
It’s called Gateside by TSA PreCheck, and approved visitors without a plane ticket can go through security and enter the terminal at 13 participating U.S. airports.
That means you could potentially walk a loved one to their gate, meet someone when they arrive, or even hang out and grab something to eat together before their flight.
There are some catches.
Visitors have to apply for a Gateside pass ahead of time and must have TSA PreCheck benefits or a Known Traveler Number. You’ll still go through TSA screening, and obviously the pass does NOT allow you to actually get on the plane.
Right now, the pilot is being tested at airports including LAX, Dallas Fort Worth, Las Vegas, Detroit, San Diego, Salt Lake City and several others.
Sadly, no South Florida airports are on the list yet.
But if this expands, we could be getting back one of those little airport moments that basically disappeared after 2001: actually watching your family or friends walk onto their flight instead of saying goodbye somewhere around the TSA line.
Now we just need them to bring back the days when getting through the airport didn’t require showing up roughly three business days before your flight.