.jpg){kind=link}
The Transportation Security Administration has started letting some non-ticketed people pass through airport security to reach the gate — but only after they apply for and receive a Gateside pass, and only if they are already eligible for TSA PreCheck — the program is Gateside by TSA PreCheck. In practice that means holding a Known Traveler Number (KTN) that carries PreCheck benefits, which is the identifier TSA checks; simply having some Known Traveler Number is not by itself the qualification. It’s now running at 13 U.S. airports in total, giving eligible visitors a one-day pass into the part of the terminal normally reserved for people who are actually flying.
For roughly two decades, since the September 11 attacks, gate areas have generally been off-limits to anyone without a boarding pass. Gateside is a limited exception to that rule for people TSA has already vetted through PreCheck. TSA’s own program page describes it as a way for eligible travelers to “return to the gate for welcomes and send-offs” and “enjoy dining and shopping along the way.”
In practice, that means someone with a Gateside pass can walk a departing family member to their gate, meet an arriving traveler as they get off the plane, join a friend during a layover, or simply get past the checkpoint to eat and shop even when they aren’t flying themselves. TSA and several participating airports point specifically to greeting military service members returning from deployment as one of the uses the program is meant for. Daren Griffin, CEO of the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, said the program “helps bring back special moments that many travelers have missed.”
Key facts
- Gateside lets approved visitors past TSA security to reach the gate without a boarding pass, for one calendar day at a time, with same-day re-entry allowed
- Only open to people who already hold TSA PreCheck or a Known Traveler Number (KTN) — it is not a way to get PreCheck itself
- Free once you already hold PreCheck or a KTN — no separate Gateside fee
- Running at 13 U.S. airports as of early September 2026 (full list below)
- Apply online through TSA’s login.gov-linked application, one to three days before your planned visit
- Was already operating at some pilot airports in early September 2026, according to local TV reports from Little Rock and the Phoenix area, but TSA has not confirmed an exact nationwide launch date
Security screening itself doesn’t change
A Gateside pass gets you past the checkpoint — it does not get you around it. Approved visitors go through the same TSA PreCheck lane and the same physical screening as ticketed passengers, and they still have to show acceptable ID. The one difference: Gateside visitors can’t use the Touchless ID biometric lanes that some PreCheck flyers use. The program changes who is allowed into the secure part of the terminal; it does not change how anyone gets screened to get there.
How to get a pass
You need to already hold TSA PreCheck or a KTN — Gateside isn’t a way to get PreCheck, it’s an added use for people who already have it.
- Apply: online through TSA’s login.gov-linked application
- Timing: apply one to three days before your planned visit, then check an approval dashboard — approval has to come through before you arrive at the airport
- Cost: no separate fee — Gateside itself is free once you already hold PreCheck or a KTN
- Pass length: good for one calendar day, with same-day re-entry allowed
- Children: can come along too, as long as they’re added to a parent or guardian’s application rather than applying on their own
- Rules: visitors must follow the same airport code-of-conduct rules and federal aviation security regulations — 49 C.F.R. Part 1540 — that apply to anyone else on the secure side of the checkpoint
The 13 pilot airports
- Mesa Gateway (Mesa, Arizona)
- John Glenn Columbus International (Columbus, Ohio)
- Dallas Fort Worth International
- Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County
- Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National
- Indianapolis International
- Harry Reid International (Las Vegas)
- Los Angeles International
- Bill and Hillary Clinton National (Little Rock, Arkansas)
- Will Rogers World Airport (Oklahoma City)
- Eppley Airfield (Omaha, Nebraska)
- San Diego International
- Salt Lake City International
TSA says it plans to add more airports “in the coming months,” though it hasn’t named which ones or set a timeline.
Mixed reaction, no reported problems
Reaction so far has been mixed. Some travelers — along with a former TSA agent quoted in a local TV news report — have called the added foot traffic low risk. Other travelers and social-media commenters have raised concerns about gate areas and seating getting more crowded during busy periods. No formal aviation-security-expert risk warning specific to Gateside was found in the reporting reviewed, and there’s no report of an actual security or crowding incident tied to the program so far. TSA’s stated answer to the crowding question is that individual airports can cap how many Gateside passes they issue on a given day, or restrict the program during peak travel times.
What isn’t settled yet is how long the pilot will run, or whether it becomes permanent. TSA hasn’t published an end date, and its own program page doesn’t set one.