TSA lets non-fliers back past security at 13 airports

The Transportation Security Administration has begun letting approved visitors who are not flying pass through security and reach the gate at 13 U.S. airports, easing one of the most visible restrictions imposed after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

The program, called Gateside by TSA PreCheck, is open to PreCheck members and others who hold a Known Traveler Number, according to the agency, which is offering it as what it calls an exclusive benefit for its most trusted travelers. It carries no fee beyond the cost of PreCheck, and visitors must apply one to three days before a planned visit.

Once approved, a visitor can walk a passenger to a departure gate, greet an arriving traveler, meet a friend during a layover, greet a service member returning from deployment, or eat and shop beyond the checkpoint. The authorization does not work as a boarding pass and does not allow anyone to board a plane.

Who qualifies to enter

Eligibility does not transfer from a relative. Someone whose spouse or parent has PreCheck must still qualify independently. Certain federal employees and members of other trusted traveler programs are also eligible, and children can be included only when a parent or guardian adds them to a reservation before arriving at the checkpoint.

They want them to have that experience. They want to take them and be with them right to the end of the process, and be there at the gate to see them off.

Smith said Mesa Gateway was chosen because of its size, and that its checkpoints rarely have long waits.

Visitors are held to the same code of conduct as ticketed passengers and must follow federal regulations, including 49 C.F.R. Part 1540, along with any local requirements posted on airport signage. The agency says a visitor who violates those rules can be told to leave or have the Gateside pass revoked.

Loosening a post-9/11 rule

Before the 2001 attacks, people without tickets could generally walk through checkpoints to see off or greet family at the gate. The attacks brought sweeping changes, including the creation of the TSA and restrictions that limited access beyond security largely to ticketed passengers and authorized individuals, with exceptions for those assisting unaccompanied children, passengers with disabilities, and others with specific needs.

Gateside loosens that restriction without changing the screening itself. Approved visitors still pass through a TSA checkpoint, present an acceptable form of identification, and enter through the PreCheck lane, the same one that PreCheck members use to fly.

This innovative program helps bring back special moments that many travelers have missed - welcoming loved ones at the gate, enjoying a meal together before a flight, or simply sharing time in the terminal

Officials at participating airports have largely welcomed the change. John Glenn Columbus International Airport in Ohio is among the 13 sites, and Daren Griffin, who leads the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, described the pilot as a return of moments that many travelers had missed. Airports also have a commercial reason to bring more people past security, where they can shop and dine.

To take part, a visitor creates or signs in to a login.gov account, enters personal details in an application portal, and submits the request, according to the agency. Applicants return to a dashboard to see whether they have been approved, then bring an acceptable ID to the PreCheck lanes, and anyone traveling with children on the reservation should be ready to show that status to an officer.

Applying for a pass

The window is narrow, and a visitor cannot simply arrive and ask for access at the checkpoint. Applicants must apply at least one day and no more than three days before the visit, and the authorization covers only that calendar day, with re-entry allowed during it, rather than serving as a standing pass.

Availability can be limited during peak times. At Mesa Gateway, officials said the airport's short checkpoint waits let it host the test without slowing everyday passengers, one reason the agency picked a smaller field rather than a large hub for part of the trial.

There is no separate charge for a Gateside authorization beyond the cost of TSA PreCheck.

The 13 airports

The 13 sites are spread across the country: Mesa Gateway in Arizona, Columbus and Detroit in the Midwest, Dallas Fort Worth in Texas, Wichita, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Little Rock, Oklahoma City, Omaha, San Diego, and Salt Lake City. Dallas Fort Worth and Los Angeles are among the busiest hubs on the list.

A patchwork of visitor passes

Several airports already run their own visitor-pass programs that predate Gateside. San Diego International Airport offers a SAN Pass that admits approved non-ticketed guests to the secure areas of Terminals 1 and 2, and both San Diego and Detroit operated gate-pass programs before joining the TSA pilot. Ontario International Airport, John Wayne Airport and Palm Springs International Airport have introduced similar programs.

Those airport passes work differently from Gateside. Guests using them go through the standard screening lines and cannot use the PreCheck or CLEAR lanes, while a Gateside pass routes visitors through the PreCheck lane. It is the only way, the agency says, that a non-traveler can reach the secure area using those lanes.

Why a small pilot

TSA is starting with a small group of airports to study how the added foot traffic affects checkpoint wait times and daily operations before deciding whether to expand. Officials at Mesa Gateway said its short waits made it a suitable place to run the test.

Mesa Gateway has enough traffic to test new procedures without the pressure of a major hub, Smith said. He described the aim as making sure the program works before it reaches what he called very large hubs and really small airports, and said the agency wants to run through each step before any nationwide rollout.

The agency says the program will expand to more airports in the coming months, though it has not published a schedule or named the next sites. It has not said how many airports it ultimately intends to add, or when the pilot might become permanent.

For now, Gateside remains a pilot rather than a nationwide change to airport security rules.

What has not changed

The screening rules themselves are unchanged. Everyone entering the secure area, ticketed or not, still passes through a TSA checkpoint, and a Gateside visitor who breaks airport security rules can be removed, lose the pass, and in some cases face civil or criminal penalties.