Airport security checkpoints have been the end of the line since soon after the 9/11 attacks for most friends and relatives who want to see off departing passengers. That is changing at some U.S. airports.
The Transportation Security Administration is allowing eligible TSA PreCheck members without tickets to pass through security and enter gate areas, reviving a tradition that largely disappeared after the attacks 25 years ago this week.
The program, called Gateside by TSA PreCheck" is free, but interested members must apply online one to three days before their planned visits and receive approval before going to the airport. If approved, they can enter security using a TSA PreCheck lane with an acceptable form of identification. The passes are valid for one calendar day, but reentries are allowed on that day.
I remember dropping off a girlfriend at the airport back in the 90s. The security desk asked me to leave my pocket knife at the security station before preceding to the gate. When I came back, the security guy was gone but there was a plastic box full of knifes and stuff to be retrieved on the honor system.
One of my friends bought one of these boxes from a TSA auction and now just gives free knives to anyone who visits.
Sweet! Free knife box!