Remember when you could walk your grandma right up to the gate at the airport? Watch the plane push back from the window before you left?
For anyone under 30, that sounds like a fairy tale. For the rest of us, it’s a memory that got taken away almost overnight.
That was the world before September 11, 2001. After the attacks, the rules changed fast.
Ticketed passengers only past the checkpoint. No exceptions for grandparents. No exceptions for kids waving goodbye to dad.
It seemed to make sense then. The threat was real and devasting, and the wounds inflicted still haven’t fully healed. They probably never will.
Nobody argued with the reasoning. But we lost a piece of human connection along the way.
Now the TSA is testing a way to bring it back, without opening the door to just anyone.
TSA has launched a new pilot program that allows some people without plane tickets to go through airport security and visit the gates at 13 U.S. airports.
The free Gateside program is available to TSA PreCheck members who apply one to three days ahead, allowing them to meet… pic.twitter.com/lxi5KDNoMg
— Complex (@Complex) September 7, 2026
The new program is called Gateside by TSA PreCheck. If you already have PreCheck or a Known Traveler Number, you can apply for a pass to go past security without a ticket.
You still go through the same screening as everyone else. You still follow the same rules as ticketed flyers.
But once you’re approved, you can meet someone at the gate, sit with a friend during a layover, or grab a bite at the restaurants once reserved for people flying out that day.
It’s not a free-for-all. You apply through TSA’s website one to three days ahead.
Airports can cap how many passes they hand out each day, or shut the program off entirely.
It’s a background-checked program built for people TSA already trusts, not a return to walk-up access for anyone.
Thirteen airports made the first rollout, and Las Vegas is one of them.
Harry Reid International joins airports in Dallas, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, and nine other cities. TSA says more airports could be added as the pilot continues.
Twenty-five years after 9/11 changed everything, the country is still looking for ways to keep us safe without giving up everything human in the name of “security.”
Gateside isn’t a return to the world before 2001. But for the people who get approved, it might bring back something we didn’t know we’d miss until it was gone.
One last hug before the flight. One more wave as the plane pulls away.
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views. Digital technology may have been used in the research, writing, or production of this article. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
