For nearly 25 years, the airport security checkpoint has usually been where the goodbye ends. A new Transportation Security Administration program is reopening the path to the gate—even for people who are not flying.
“Gateside by TSA PreCheck” allows approved members of trusted-traveler programs to pass through security without a boarding pass at 13 participating U.S. airports. That means eligible visitors can walk a loved one to a departure gate, welcome someone arriving, meet a friend during a layover or use restaurants and shops inside the secure terminal.
The program is free, but access is not automatic. Applicants must submit a request online one to three days before the planned visit and receive approval, according to the official TSA program page and reporting from The Associated Press.
The gate is open—but only for trusted travelers
Gateside is not a return to the unrestricted airport access that existed before the September 11, 2001, attacks. It is a controlled benefit built around TSA’s existing trusted-traveler system.
Applicants need TSA PreCheck benefits and a Known Traveler Number, commonly called a KTN. Members of certain other trusted-traveler programs that provide a KTN may also qualify. Once approved, visitors must bring an acceptable form of identification and their Gateside approval to the airport, then pass through a TSA PreCheck screening lane.
The authorization is valid for one calendar day and allows reentry during that approved day. Children may accompany an eligible parent or guardian when they are included on the application, according to ABC News.
Approval remains subject to TSA screening and airport capacity. A Gateside authorization does not provide permission to board an aircraft, bypass security rules or enter restricted employee areas.
These are the 13 participating airports
The initial network stretches across the West, Midwest and South and includes three airports in California:
- Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona
- John Glenn Columbus International Airport in Ohio
- Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in Texas
- Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Michigan
- Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport in Kansas
- Indianapolis International Airport in Indiana
- Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas
- Los Angeles International Airport
- Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Arkansas
- Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma
- Eppley Airfield in Nebraska
- San Diego International Airport
- Salt Lake City International Airport
TSA says it plans to expand Gateside to additional airports in the coming months. Availability and the number of daily approvals may vary by location, particularly during busy travel periods.
Why this feels like a major change
Before 9/11, friends and relatives without tickets commonly accompanied passengers to departure gates or waited for them as they stepped off an arriving flight. The attacks led to sweeping aviation-security changes, and the boarding pass became the standard barrier between the public terminal and secure gate areas.
Airports have occasionally issued special gate passes since then, often for people helping travelers with disabilities, older passengers or unaccompanied children. Some airports also tested their own visitor-pass programs. Gateside is broader because it connects non-ticketed access to TSA PreCheck across an initial national group of airports.
The timing is especially symbolic as the United States approaches the 25th anniversary of the attacks. TSA is preserving security screening while selectively restoring a piece of the airport experience that disappeared afterward.
What visitors should know before applying
A person should apply through TSA’s official Gateside page—not through an airline or an unofficial travel site. Applications must be filed at least one day and no more than three days before the requested visit.
Approved visitors should arrive with enough time for screening and should confirm their airport’s operating hours and local restrictions. They will still be subject to the same rules governing prohibited items at checkpoints, even though they are not boarding a flight.
For families, the practical impact could be meaningful: a parent can help an adult child settle at the gate, grandparents can welcome relatives as they arrive, and trusted travelers can spend a layover together without either person buying an unnecessary ticket.
It is not the pre-9/11 airport system returning. But at 13 airports, the security checkpoint is no longer automatically the end of the road for everyone without a boarding pass.
