TSA Quietly Opens Airport Gates To Non-Flyers At 300+ Airports—With A Free PreCheck Visitor Pass

TSA is quietly expanding access beyond airport security for people who aren’t flying to more than 300 airports. Their website still shows 15 airports, but click through and the full list now populates. If you have TSA PreCheck, you can apply for a free Gateside pass to meet someone at their arrival gate, accompany someone to their gate for departure, or just spend time with a friend during a layover. Maybe you even just like the food and shopping at the airport! And unlike the old limited airport programs, you don’t give up PreCheck to do this. Click through to apply, sign in, and the airport selection menu lists hundreds of airports now. You’ll find Atlanta, and airports stretching from Anchorage to Asheville. My home airport of Austin isn’t listed, neither is Dallas Love Field. It’s not everywhere, but this is a huge expansion. More Than 300 Airports, Despite The Short Public List This has been a quiet launch, though a few airports have mentioned it on their own like Tulsa. Gateside by TSA PreCheck lets eligible members request access to the terminal beyond security without a ticket for same day travel. There’s no charge for the gate pass. You need to be PreCheck eligible. Apply one to three days before your visit. Start at TSA’s Gateside page, click to apply, and sign in using Login.gov. Enter your information, Known Traveler Number, airport and visit date. Check that you’ve been approved before heading to the airport. This should go smoothly but we’ll see how it scales now that so many airports are involved. Bring your ID. This isn’t set up with TSA Touchless. Use the TSA PreCheck screening lane. Be ready to show the approval on your phone. It needs to be live, screenshots and printouts aren’t accepted. Add accompanying children to the registration. Everyone visiting needs to be included in the approval. The pass covers one calendar day. You’re still going through security and following the screening rules. Airports can limit availability. For instance, San Jose says it’s limiting Gateside to 75 passes per day, per checkpoint. And getting into the terminal doesn’t mean you can access an airport lounge, since most of those will require a a same-day boarding pass. Even if you’re accompanying someone with lounge access that’s traveling, some lounges check boarding passes of every passenger. This Has Been Decades In Coming Back in 2017, I was excited about Pittsburgh allowing visitors through security without a ticket. Other airports developed their own TSA-approved visitor programs, and airlines have long issued gate passes in limited circumstances. Before 9/11 it was commonplace. And the restriction wasn’t really about security. As long as TSA was running people through their targeting databases security wasn’t even a plausible argument (and the restriction predated a time when these databases were part of the screening process). Airside access was limited to reduce throughput and make it easier for TSA, which was afraid of managing additional passengers. But this shouldn’t really change travel volumes that much. Most people won’t travel to the airport, possibly pay for parking, and go through a checkpoint just to buy a prepacked sandwich or buy overpriced retail. But meeting a friend who’s connecting through your city, helping a grandparent find their gate, or greeting your family when they get off the plane can be priceless. I’d love to see a shorter window, rather than having to register a day in advance, to meet someone with an unexpectedly long layover. Their flight goes mechanical, weather turns bad, a friend’s unplanned six hour layover could be a nice opportunity (though you could still meet them landside, leave the airport). Nonetheless, real progress and I have to give genuine credit to TSA for this.