# Will non passengers ever get past airport security again? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 13, 2016, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-passengers-ever-get-past-airport-security-again/748812 "2016-03-13T00:22:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-passengers-ever-get-past-airport-security-again/748812/21 "2016-03-13T11:17:36Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > I realise this is specific to the USA… I should mention that non-passengers have not been allowed to accompany or meet passengers at the gate in Canadian airports since about 1972. If you did not have a boarding pass, you did not go through security. Period. I’m not sure why “non-passengers going to the gate” is such a thing in the US and elsewhere. Canadians have dealt with it for 40+ years. You say goodbye to departing passengers before security; you greet arriving passengers after they come out of the secure zone. Nobody gets upset, everybody deals, and it works. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-passengers-ever-get-past-airport-security-again/748812/22 "2016-03-13T11:20:02Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > I should mention that non-passengers have not been allowed to accompany or meet passengers at the gate in Canadian airports since about 1972. If you did not have a boarding pass, you did not go through security. Period. > > I’m not sure why “non-passengers going to the gate” is such a thing in the US and elsewhere. Canadians have dealt with it for 40+ years. You say goodbye to departing passengers before security; you greet arriving passengers after they come out of the secure zone. Nobody gets upset, everybody deals, and it works. Yeah I get that. Security is effectively the gate. When security is open to all you can get to the airport a little early and maybe have lunch with your loved ones. But then I suspect you probably have shops and restaurant before security whereas the majority of ours are after security. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-passengers-ever-get-past-airport-security-again/748812/23 "2016-03-13T15:26:04Z")
What is the procedure with unaccompanied children - are these in the airline’s charge security checkpoint to security checkpoint, or gate to gate? If the parent sends them off at security, I’d imagine it is quite onerous for the gate agent to be responsible for a bored child not wandering off, in addition to their normal duties. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-passengers-ever-get-past-airport-security-again/748812/24 "2016-03-13T15:48:55Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > I should mention that non-passengers have not been allowed to accompany or meet passengers at the gate in Canadian airports since about 1972. If you did not have a boarding pass, you did not go through security. Period. > > I’m not sure why “non-passengers going to the gate” is such a thing in the US and elsewhere. Canadians have dealt with it for 40+ years. You say goodbye to departing passengers before security; you greet arriving passengers after they come out of the secure zone. Nobody gets upset, everybody deals, and it works. Because, America, Freedom. Or something. Heck, same deal existed before 9/11 in places _ **within the US system** _ – at SJU since the 70s, it was ticketed pax only to the gates AND at baggage claim. Until the 00’s you even had to show your claim ticket when leaving baggage claim to prove that was your bag. Sure, maybe it was because it was presumed we island mongrels would steal stuff and stow away on the planes if allowed free movement, but still… ---
**Author:** ![Fleetwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fleetwood/32/271_2.png) [@Fleetwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fleetwood)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-passengers-ever-get-past-airport-security-again/748812/25 "2016-03-13T16:55:46Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > I was reminded of this by another thread, but I’d been thinking about it previously. > > Do you ever think we’ll return to the days where people were allowed to go to the gate to meet and see off passengers? Even with reduced security at the checkpoints then, it probably still created at least some hassle, so maybe doing so is just incompatible with the security (theater) the public demands these days. But then again, maybe there could be a separate checkpoint for those who have no ticket and/or luggage. > > Thoughts? I hope not. People used to clog the gate areas to greet/see off Grandma or Aunt Sofia. Usually getting in my way, holding me up getting off or on the plane. After the first Gulf War, for a while it was nice, all non-passengers outside of security. Gradually, airport by airport, the restrictions were lifted. I could go on for days about the TSA (Thousands Standing Around) and other changed implemented since 9/11, but keeping non-passengers away from gates is not one of them. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-passengers-ever-get-past-airport-security-again/748812/26 "2016-03-13T23:21:27Z")
I doubt it but I can see it happening. I used to meet folks passing through Greater Pitt for a lunch visit or drink fairly often; and while I hate to admit it I would be willing to go through all the security and hassle (right down to possible strip search) to do it again. Added is the situation where our airport was built as an “air mall” with a terrible and terribly small “land-side area” for when I am dropping off or picking up people. And with some of the security screenings we go through just getting to work some places, or entering some buildings, airport screenings just aren’t all that odd to me anymore. I guess I just have a different take from say **Ethilrist** on how much hassle average people are willing to go through. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-passengers-ever-get-past-airport-security-again/748812/27 "2016-03-14T00:11:31Z")
God, I hope not. I very much prefer 1) not feeling obligated to go in to meet people and 2) not having to have weird lingering hanging out before saying goodbye time at the terminal. I hate goodbyes, and that’s the worst. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-passengers-ever-get-past-airport-security-again/748812/28 "2016-03-14T00:35:33Z")
> [@Mops](#): > > What is the procedure with unaccompanied children - are these in the airline’s charge security checkpoint to security checkpoint, or gate to gate? If the parent sends them off at security, I’d imagine it is quite onerous for the gate agent to be responsible for a bored child not wandering off, in addition to their normal duties. You pay a little extra for an unaccompanied minor. What is supposed to happen… You wait with them at the gate until boarding. At the other end, someone picks them up as they deplane at the gate. If there is a transfer, the airline will provide someone to get them to the next gate and boarded. And if they deplane and your useless ex-husband is late, they are supposed to remain attended until he shows up. Getting a gate pass isn’t a huge deal if one is needed. But they don’t want seventeen people waiting at the gate for Grandma anymore either. Not only because of security, but it was a pain in the ass to move through an airport on a business trip when you had a four generation family reunion happening in the concourse. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-passengers-ever-get-past-airport-security-again/748812/29 "2016-03-14T01:44:53Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > I doubt it but I can see it happening. I used to meet folks passing through Greater Pitt for a lunch visit or drink fairly often; and while I hate to admit it I would be willing to go through all the security and hassle (right down to possible strip search) to do it again. Added is the situation where our airport was built as an “air mall” with a terrible and terribly small “land-side area” for when I am dropping off or picking up people. Oh goodness I remember dealing with Pittsburgh in 2002, in the aftermath of the security tightening before remodels could be done to accommodate it and that was one hellacious situation, with the lines going back out across the walkway and into the parking deck. But the tiny landside/huge airside, as you said built up as an “airside mall” was under the premise that it was the mighty Master Hub for USAir and it would be serving huge throngs of 20+ million passengers per year waiting to connect from up and down the East and out to the rest of the nation and world. How’d that work out, City Fathers? (it WAS a great place to connect, while that lasted) Then there’s Kansas City’s MidContinent International. Designed before even regular checkpoints existed, to enable you to get off the car virtually in front of each check-in queue and be 5 minutes from the curbside to the departures/arrivals lounge – but the terminal concourses were not set up as piers where you can put in a checkpoint at the root of the pier, but as circles [where cars pulled right up to to the inside and planes right up to the outside](http://media.publika.md/ru/image/201509/oar_full/kansas_city_international_airport_99164000.jpg). Creating the secure zones meant having to section the concourse _longitudinally_ to the arc, and the structural design does not allow to do that continuously, so there’s screening points for every half a dozen gates or less, some even for a single one, and until post-9/11 renovations were done for some of the latter the partition ended up down the middle of the hall… with the restrooms on the wrong side. So, another place where you’d rather NOT have the extended family all inside the gate area. (They ARE working on a major redesign) ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-passengers-ever-get-past-airport-security-again/748812/30 "2016-03-14T02:05:13Z")
Can I cabbage a question onto this one? Do they let parents of minors traveling alone go through security with them and wait with them until they board the aircraft? ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-passengers-ever-get-past-airport-security-again/748812/31 "2016-03-14T07:05:48Z")
Here - no boarding pass you don’t get through the initial round of security. Immediately after the entry to secure area is passport control - they also wouldn’t look kindly on it. In Singapore, the gates themselves are secured. It’s an enclosed area and you can’t get in without a boarding pass. The gate closes something like 30 minutes before departure. And in a related question - What the fuck is wrong with Australian airports? I get off one international flight, and have to pass through security checks again (including baggage scan, being swabbed for explosives, go through metal scanner) before I board my next international flight. Damn arseholes confiscated my blardy jar of marmite on my last trip. I was highly pissed off. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-passengers-ever-get-past-airport-security-again/748812/32 "2016-03-14T10:16:56Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > I realise this is specific to the USA even though it wasn’t stated as such, however, here in Australia anyone can go through security. Probably best not to mention that we also allow liquids greater than 100 ml past security (and on-board) for terminals which don’t handle international departures. 😉 (With very few exceptions we segregate domestic and international departures.) I actually find the bigger advantage to being allowed access to the gate is when meeting an arriving passenger, rather than farewelling a departing one. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-passengers-ever-get-past-airport-security-again/748812/33 "2016-03-14T10:25:58Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > Yeah I get that. Security is effectively the gate. When security is open to all you can get to the airport a little early and maybe have lunch with your loved ones. But then I suspect you probably have shops and restaurant before security whereas the majority of ours are after security. > [@kopek](#): > > I doubt it but I can see it happening. I used to meet folks passing through Greater Pitt for a lunch visit or drink fairly often; and while I hate to admit it I would be willing to go through all the security and hassle (right down to possible strip search) to do it again. Added is the situation where our airport was built as an “air mall” with a terrible and terribly small “land-side area” for when I am dropping off or picking up people. And with some of the security screenings we go through just getting to work some places, or entering some buildings, airport screenings just aren’t all that odd to me anymore. I guess I just have a different take from say **Ethilrist** on how much hassle average people are willing to go through. Yeah, it’s really an issue of airports not being designed for the way they’re currently used. I have a friend that I drop off and pick up at Logan fairly often. Sometimes I’ll park and we’ll have a bite to eat before she goes through security and to the gate. Not many places to eat outside of security, though, and you do want to keep an eye on the line in case it starts getting crowded. On the other hand, if someone is just changing planes he probably doesn’t want to come out of the secure area to get some food. Logan’s cell phone lot is pretty small, too. I had an idea once to have visiting rooms in airports like they do in prisons. If a friend is passing through, you can chat for a while through a glass partition. I suspect it will take a while for the planners and architects to catch up, especially since I don’t know of any new airport projects even being contemplated. I’m not sure what the perfect design is; it would be fascinating to see what’s being considered. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-passengers-ever-get-past-airport-security-again/748812/34 "2016-03-14T14:19:04Z")
I hope not. The most relaxing thing in the world is getting past security and flopping my ass down at the gate before a long trip. You’ve done all the prep you can do and there is nothing to be done now if you’ve forgotten something. Go get a soft pretzel, maybe some Amy’s ice cream, or BBQ. Go to the lounge, sit, put my feet up, take a nap. I get to the airport super early just for this experience. This would be impossible with other people moping around waiting to send you off. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-passengers-ever-get-past-airport-security-again/748812/35 "2016-03-14T14:29:41Z")
> [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](#): > > They should call it a “Gate Pass.” In fact, that’s what it was called a few years ago when I got one at Fort Lauderdale International. I was helping a friend travel to visit his family. He was very shy and hadn’t been on a plane in a long time. When I helped check him in at the front area, I did all the talking. The agent asked me if I wanted a gate pass so I could keep him company until he boarded. > It looked just like a boarding pass, but had the words Gate Pass printed on it. > > Security accepted it without question. Did this last year - not sure why everyone seems to think it’s impossible. Yes, non-passengers can go to the gate. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-passengers-ever-get-past-airport-security-again/748812/36 "2016-03-14T14:53:51Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > I hope not. The most relaxing thing in the world is getting past security and flopping my ass down at the gate before a long trip. You’ve done all the prep you can do and there is nothing to be done now if you’ve forgotten something. Go get a soft pretzel, maybe some Amy’s ice cream, or BBQ. Go to the lounge, sit, put my feet up, take a nap. I get to the airport super early just for this experience. This would be impossible with other people moping around waiting to send you off. Yeah. I totally don’t get the point, unless someone needs assistance, which is an entirely different kettle of fish. I like being dropped off and saying BYE! No more moping or teary-eyed people. I want a soft pretzel now. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-passengers-ever-get-past-airport-security-again/748812/37 "2016-03-14T15:09:47Z")
OTOH the airside concessions here at San Juan could maybe try to adopt a “same prices as on the outside” policy like some mainland airports I’ve been through… … naah, SJU would be still lousy as an in-transit airport. Even with the remodel. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-passengers-ever-get-past-airport-security-again/748812/38 "2016-03-14T21:29:37Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Yeah. I totally don’t get the point, unless someone needs assistance, which is an entirely different kettle of fish. I like being dropped off and saying BYE! No more moping or teary-eyed people. > > I want a soft pretzel now. In my experience most people do just get dropped off, that’s how my family does it and I travel a lot and don’t see a lot of other departing families hang about either. It’s more for the greeting of the arrivals that people go through security. Even then lots of people meet up at the baggage carousel instead. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-passengers-ever-get-past-airport-security-again/748812/39 "2016-03-14T21:40:08Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I suspect it will take a while for the planners and architects to catch up, especially since I don’t know of any new airport projects even being contemplated. That’s undoubtedly a factor; IIRC the last major US airport to be built was Denver International, which opened in 1995. In Chicago, there has been a long-running effort to build a[new airport in the far south suburbs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposed_Chicago_south_suburban_airport) (the location which has been proposed, for the past 18 years, is near Peotone). Though it’s been pushed strongly by a number of politicians over the years (in large part for its promise as an economic boon for that area), there’s very little momentum behind it now, and it’s been rarely mentioned in the local press over the past few years (though it does not appear to be an entirely dead issue). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-passengers-ever-get-past-airport-security-again/748812.md?page=1)