A program that lets specially screened visitors pass through airport security to see off loved ones at the gate is apparently being scaled back.
TSA’s “Gateside,” announced in September, was initially available at 13 U.S. airports. It expanded to hundreds more in recent weeks, according to TSA news releases.
But as of this week, the program has apparently been scaled back to the original 13 airports. TSA has not yet commented on the reversal, but some affected airports have.
“TSA recently returned Gateside by TSA PreCheck operations to the original 13 participating airports, at least for the time being,” Denver International Airport, one of the expansion airports, told CNN on Thursday.
Officials at Norfolk International Airport in Virginia, another expansion airport, told the outlet that they learned of the change through complaints and messages from customers, not from TSA directly.
Gateside allows TSA PreCheck members and those with Known Traveler Numbers to clear security without a ticket for a departing flight. This enables members of the public to greet or say goodbye to family and friends at the gate, visit a traveler during a layover, or access airport shops and restaurants.
Such visits have generally not been permitted since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The original 13 airports, where Gateside remains in effect, are Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Las Vegas, Mesa Gateway in Arizona, Los Angeles, San Diego, Salt Lake City, Oklahoma City, Little Rock, Arkansas, Indianapolis, Omaha, Nebraska, Wichita, Kansas, and Columbus, Ohio.