TSA Lets Nonflyers Past Security at 13 Airports
TSA Lets Nonflyers Past Security at 13 Airports
The News
The Transportation Security Administration is letting some people without plane tickets back through airport security, reviving a send-off tradition that all but vanished after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The program, called "Gateside by TSA PreCheck," is free and open to TSA PreCheck members — and to members of other trusted-traveler programs who hold a Known Traveler Number.
It launched at 13 airports, including Los Angeles International, Dallas-Fort Worth International, Harry Reid International in Las Vegas and Salt Lake City International. DFW is the only Texas airport in the program so far.
How It Works
Visitors must apply online one to three days before the day they plan to go to the airport and be approved in advance. Approved visitors enter through a TSA PreCheck lane with an acceptable form of identification.
The pass is good for one calendar day, and visitors can re-enter that same day.
Timeline
Hijackers crash four commercial aircraft, including two American Airlines planes, killing some 3,000 people. The attacks trigger sweeping airport security changes, and travelers without a boarding pass are barred from the areas beyond security checkpoints.
TSA launches Gateside by TSA PreCheck at 13 airports, allowing approved nonflyers past the checkpoint for the first time in nearly 25 years. The agency says it plans to expand to more airports in the coming months.
Reactions
TSA framed the change as a perk for vetted travelers. "As an exclusive benefit for our most trusted travelers, this new program makes it easier to return to the gate for welcomes and send-offs, meet friends during a layover, and enjoy dining and shopping along the way, bringing back the moments that once defined air travel," the agency said on its website.
The Dallas Morning News called the expanded access "monumental" given its timing, days before the country marks the 25th anniversary of the attacks that produced the restrictions in the first place.
The Independent noted the checkpoint has for decades been "the end of the road" for friends and relatives seeing off a traveler.
What's Next
TSA says it will expand Gateside to more airports in the coming months. For now, access is limited to the 13 launch airports and to PreCheck members or other trusted travelers with a Known Traveler Number who apply and are approved one to three days ahead.
More
TSA lists the intended uses plainly: meeting family at the gate, having lunch with a friend during a long layover, visiting airport restaurants and shops, and greeting service members coming home from deployment.
Poll
Should nonflyers be allowed past airport security again?
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