TSA Opens 13 Airports to Ticketless PreCheck Visitors Under Gateside Program
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 8
TSA Opens 13 Airports to Ticketless PreCheck Visitors Under Gateside Program
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 8
Summary
13 U.S. airports are now letting TSA PreCheck and some other trusted-traveler members clear security without a ticket under the new Gateside program launched last week.
PreCheck members must apply one to three days ahead, pay no extra fee beyond PreCheck’s roughly $80 five-year cost, and can use PreCheck lanes for daylong access with re-entry.
Dallas Fort Worth, Los Angeles International and Las Vegas’ Harry Reid are among the first airports participating, with access intended for meeting arrivals, seeing off travelers or visiting during layovers.
More than a dozen airports already ran their own non-TSA gate-access programs, often open to any visitor with a Real ID or passport, making Gateside a federal expansion of a limited post-9/11 practice.
Could the TSA's new Gateside program secretly be a strategic marketing push to boost paid PreCheck enrollments rather than just a family perk?
If local airports already offer free visitor passes, why is the federal government suddenly stepping in to centralize gate access for trusted travelers?
Will allowing non-flyers back to the gates revive pre-9/11 nostalgia, or simply create unbearable security congestion for actual travelers rushing to flights?