MESA, AZ — Mesa Gateway Airport is the test site for a new federal program designed to improve the travel experience for passengers and their families.
The program, called Gateside by TSA PreCheck, allows people who have been cleared by TSA PreCheck — but are not ticketed passengers — to accompany friends and family members to airport gates.
To participate, visitors must go to the airport's security checkpoint, share their Known Traveler Number, and they are then welcome to greet arriving passengers at the gate or see their loved ones off.
Gateside passes are not permanent. They are valid for one day at a time.
The FAA is launching the program at 13 airports of all sizes.
A passenger named Vivian, who was traveling to Idaho, described the experience.
"It's so easy," Vivian said.
She also spoke to the appeal of having company at the airport.
"I think, for a lot of people, when you're on the other end of your trip, when you're done visiting your friends and family, and you want to hang out a little longer, and you get to the airport a little bit early and have a little company," Vivian said.
The program loosens some FAA restrictions on non-passengers that have been in effect since the Sept. 11 attacks, nearly 25 years ago. Gateside's first week has arrived with passenger approval — for the most part. One passenger, who declined to comment on camera, said she does not like the program and expressed concerns about safety-related issues.
Ryan Smith, Mesa Gateway Airport's longtime spokesperson, believes federal aviation officials intentionally chose the airport because of its reputation for being easy to access.
"We have a lot of people, especially our passengers, that may have elderly parents or younger kids who are traveling. They want them to have that experience. They want to take them and be with them right to the end of the process, and be there at the gate to see them off," Smith said.
Smith says the Labor Day weekend launch serves as a springboard for Arizona's busy fall-and-winter travel season. Mesa Gateway Airport serves 45 non-stop destinations and saw 2 million passengers last year.
Smith also told me the TSA expects to expand the program to all airports once the 30-day trial period ends.
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