TSA Quietly Handed Non-Flyers a Key to the Gate

Since October 2, the airport gate has been open to people without a boarding pass at more than 300 U.S. airports, if you know the right door. The program is called Gateside by TSA PreCheck, and according to View from the Wing it is available only to active PreCheck members. Its purpose is the old-fashioned airport goodbye: seeing off a departing relative, meeting an arriving one at the gate, or spending a layover with someone who is not flying.

Getting a pass takes planning. Members apply one to three days before the visit on TSA’s Gateside page, sign in through Login.gov and enter their Known Traveler Number, the airport and the visit date. Approval has to be confirmed before heading to the airport. At the checkpoint, the visitor shows a valid ID and the approval live on a phone; screenshots and printouts are not accepted.

There are limits. A pass covers a single calendar day, every visitor goes through standard TSA screening and children traveling along must be added to the registration. It does not open lounge doors without a boarding pass. Individual airports may cap volume, and San Jose reportedly limits passes to 75 per checkpoint, so busy days could fill up.

One oddity is that TSA’s public site lists only about 15 airports, while the application dropdown reportedly includes more than 300, including Atlanta, Anchorage, Asheville, Tulsa and Dallas/Fort Worth. Check the dropdown rather than the public list before assuming your airport is excluded, and apply early.

Sources: View from the Wing, View from the Wing (latest)