No Ticket? No Problem: TSA Is Bringing Back the Airport Gate Goodbye

For nearly 25 years, one of the most human parts of air travel has been missing.

You drive someone to the airport. You unload the bags. Maybe you get a quick hug at the curb. And depending on the airport, if you sit there for more than about 14 seconds, you start wondering whether airport police are going to make you circle the terminal again.

Then your traveler walks through the doors.

That’s it.

You don’t sit with them before their flight. You don’t grab lunch together. You don’t walk them to the gate. You don’t watch their airplane pull away. And when someone you love comes home, you usually wait around baggage claim instead of being the first familiar face they see when they step off the jet bridge.

For most of us, that has simply become part of flying.

But TSA is beginning to change that.

A new program called Gateside by TSA PreCheck is allowing eligible people who are not flying to pass through airport security and enter the secure side of participating airports.

And I absolutely love this idea.

What Is Gateside by TSA PreCheck?

Gateside by TSA PreCheck allows eligible trusted travelers who do not have an airline ticket to apply for access beyond the security checkpoint at participating airports.

In other words, you may be able to go through TSA without actually having a flight.

Think about what that means.

You could walk a family member to the gate.

You could meet someone the moment they arrive.

You could visit a friend who has a long layover.

You could accompany someone who is nervous about traveling and stay with them until it is time to board.

Or you could simply enjoy some of the restaurants, shops and other amenities located inside the secure portion of an airport.

TSA launched the program in September 2026 at 13 airports, with the potential for additional airports to be added as the program develops.

The initial airports include:

Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona

John Glenn Columbus International Airport

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport

Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport

Indianapolis International Airport

Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas

Los Angeles International Airport

Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock

Will Rogers International Airport in Oklahoma City

Eppley Airfield in Omaha

San Diego International Airport

Salt Lake City International Airport

You Still Have to Go Through Security

This does not mean TSA is simply opening the doors and allowing anyone into the terminal.

Gateside is built around the trusted traveler system.

Participants need qualifying TSA PreCheck benefits and a Known Traveler Number or another eligible trusted traveler credential. You apply before your visit, receive approval, bring proper identification to the airport and go through TSA screening.

Airport security rules still apply.

TSA can also limit the number of Gateside visitors based on security conditions and airport capacity.

So no, this is not a return to the completely open airport terminals of decades ago.

It is something smarter.

It combines modern airport security with the ability to bring back something air travel lost a long time ago.

This Gives TSA PreCheck an Entirely New Kind of Value

I already think TSA PreCheck is one of the better investments a frequent traveler can make.

But Gateside changes the value of PreCheck in an interesting way.

Until now, TSA PreCheck was something you used when you were traveling.

Now it could have value when somebody else is traveling.

Maybe you only fly a couple of times a year and have wondered whether TSA PreCheck is worth paying for.

Now imagine your son or daughter is taking their first trip alone.

Maybe your parents are flying somewhere and you want to help them navigate the airport.

Maybe your spouse is leaving on a long trip.

Maybe your best friend has a four-hour connection through your local airport.

Or maybe a family member you haven’t seen in a year is finally coming home.

Suddenly, your trusted traveler membership can be useful even when you are not getting on an airplane.

That is a completely different benefit.

And I think it is a very smart one.

Airports Can Become Places Again

Something changed about airports after September 11, 2001, and understandably so.

Security had to change.

Before 9/11, family and friends could generally accompany travelers to their gates. After the attacks, the security checkpoint became a dividing line between passengers and everyone else.

That change served an important purpose.

But we also lost something.

Airports used to be part of the experience.

People dressed differently when they traveled. Flying felt like an occasion.

Families went to the airport together.

Kids stood at huge terminal windows watching airplanes taxi.

People said goodbye at the gate.

Someone returning home might step off an airplane and see an entire family waiting for them.

Today, air travel often feels much more transactional.

Get dropped off.

Check your bag.

Clear security.

Find the gate.

Board the plane.

Repeat.

Gateside brings a little humanity back into that process.

Imagine the Arrivals

This may be the part of the program that I like the most.

Imagine a servicemember coming home and walking off the jet bridge to see family waiting at the gate.

Imagine your grandson flying in to visit and seeing Grandpa standing there when he arrives.

Imagine somebody coming home after being away for six months and seeing a ridiculous homemade welcome sign waiting for them.

Those moments used to be part of flying.

Now, at least at participating airports, they can be again.

And I think that matters.

There is something completely different about walking off an airplane and immediately seeing the person you came home to see.

Not 20 minutes later at baggage claim.

Not after navigating escalators, trams and crowds.

Right there.

At the gate.

It Could Make Travel Easier for Nervous Travelers

There is another side to Gateside that deserves attention.

Not everyone loves flying.

Some people are anxious travelers.

Some people are flying for the first time.

Some people have no problem with the airplane itself but find large airports confusing or intimidating.

Until now, unless there was a qualifying circumstance that allowed an airline to issue an escort pass, friends and family usually had to say goodbye before security.

Gateside creates another possibility.

A trusted family member or friend may be able to go through security with you, help you find your gate, grab something to eat, sit with you and stay until boarding begins.

It does not replace airline assistance programs or accessibility services for travelers who need them.

It simply gives people another option.

Sometimes having someone you know sitting beside you is the best travel assistance there is.

And Don’t Overlook the Restaurants

Frequent travelers know something that people who rarely fly may not realize.

Airport food has gotten a lot better.

Sure, there are still plenty of overpriced grab-and-go sandwiches that can make you reconsider every decision that brought you to that moment.

But many airports now have great local restaurants, breweries, chef-driven concepts, shopping, lounges, art installations and other experiences beyond security.

Gateside suddenly gives some non-travelers access to that world.

Have a friend with a three-hour layover?

You might be able to meet them for dinner.

Want to take your grandchild to watch airplanes and grab lunch?

Potentially.

Want to spend another hour with someone before a long trip rather than dropping them at the curb?

Now there may be another option.

The airport does not have to be somewhere you only go because you are flying.

It can become a place again.

Philadelphia Travelers Already Have Something Similar

There is an important distinction for travelers in the Philadelphia area.

Philadelphia International Airport is not currently one of the airports participating in Gateside by TSA PreCheck.

However, PHL already operates its own program called Wingmate Pass.

Wingmate allows approved non-ticketed visitors to enter the secure side of Philadelphia International Airport to accompany someone to a gate, greet a domestic arrival or enjoy airport restaurants, shopping and other amenities.

Unlike Gateside, Wingmate does not require TSA PreCheck membership.

Programs like Wingmate are important because they show that airports have already been experimenting with bringing non-ticketed visitors back into secure terminals.

What makes Gateside especially interesting is that TSA itself is now building a broader program around its trusted traveler system.

That could make this concept much easier to expand.

I Think the Golden Age of Air Travel May Be Coming Back

I keep saying something that might sound a little crazy.

I think we may be seeing the beginning of a new golden age of air travel.

No, I don’t think everyone is going to start wearing suits and dresses to fly again.

And based on what I see in airports every week, I think pajamas are probably here to stay.

But I do think the travel industry is beginning to think differently about the customer experience.

For years, so much of flying has been focused on efficiency.

Move people through security faster.

Board the airplane faster.

Turn the aircraft faster.

Move passengers from Point A to Point B.

Those things matter.

But somewhere along the way, the experience itself became secondary.

Now we are starting to see technology and new programs being used to make travel enjoyable again.

United Airlines, for example, is currently testing a program at Newark Liberty International Airport where eligible passengers can order food, drinks and certain travel essentials through the United app and have those items waiting for them at the gate.

United has said Houston is also expected to receive the program later in 2026.

Think about how useful that could be during a tight connection.

Instead of getting off one airplane, sprinting through Newark, standing in a restaurant line and then running to your next gate, your food could already be there waiting for you.

That may sound like a small change.

It isn’t.

Small improvements like that can completely change how stressful a travel day feels.

I’ll be talking more about that program in another Pags on the Go article.

Maybe the Airport Can Be Fun Again

I don’t expect us to recreate air travel from the 1960s.

And frankly, we probably shouldn’t.

The so-called golden age of aviation gets romanticized. Flying was much more expensive relative to household income, far fewer people could afford it and there were plenty of things about the experience that were not nearly as glamorous as the old photographs make them look.

But there was something about travel that I think we lost.

It felt special.

Going to the airport meant something.

Leaving meant something.

Coming home meant something.

Maybe the next golden age of air travel does not need to look like the old one.

Maybe we create a new version.

One that keeps modern aviation security but uses trusted traveler programs intelligently.

One where technology removes some of the frustrating parts of travel instead of creating new ones.

One where airports become places worth spending time again.

One where families can walk together to the gate.

One where a nervous traveler does not necessarily have to say goodbye before security.

One where a child can stand at the terminal window with Grandpa and watch airplanes taxi.

And one where somebody can step off a plane after a long journey and see the person they love standing there holding a sign.

That may seem like a small thing.

I don’t think it is.

Travel has always been about more than moving people from Point A to Point B.

It is about leaving.

It is about arriving.

It is about who you are going to see.

And sometimes, it is about who is standing there when you get there.

Gateside by TSA PreCheck brings a little piece of that back.

I hope it comes to a lot more airports.

Travel smart,
Tommy Pags