TSA Puts Its Gateside PreCheck Expansion on Hold, Pulling Gate Access for Non-Flyers Back to 13 Airports

The Transportation Security Administration has pulled Gateside by TSA PreCheck, its program that lets PreCheck members past security without a ticket, back to the 13 airports where it began. The cutback came about two weeks after the program went live at roughly 300 more airports on October 2, 2026.

TSA has not explained the change in public. Its Gateside page lists only the 13 pilot airports as of October 16, and CNN reported that only those 13 can now be picked when applying for a pass.

What changed, and when

TSA launched Gateside at 13 airports in early September and issued local press releases about it on September 9 and 10. The pilot airports are Mesa Gateway (AZA), Columbus (CMH), Dallas Fort Worth (DFW), Detroit (DTW), Wichita (ICT), Indianapolis (IND), Las Vegas (LAS), Los Angeles (LAX), Little Rock (LIT), Oklahoma City (OKC), Omaha (OMA), San Diego (SAN) and Salt Lake City (SLC).

TSA issued no press release for the expansion, so the news came from airports. On October 1, Tulsa International Airport said Gateside would go live at 301 additional airports the next day, bringing the total to 314.

TSA’s newsroom carries no release about the rollback either. Its Gateside page still says the program “will roll out to more airports across the country in the coming months.”

Norfolk International Airport in Virginia found out only when people complained, CNN reported. According to WAVY, Norfolk and Newport News-Williamsburg joined on October 2, and 31 people requested and used passes at Norfolk in the first four days.

Chris Jones, the Norfolk Airport Authority’s chief marketing and communications officer, told WAVY he learned on Tuesday, October 13, that Norfolk could no longer be selected. He said TSA had told the airport the program is “on hold indefinitely aside from the 13 airports in the pilot program.”

Denver International Airport told CNN that TSA “recently returned Gateside by TSA PreCheck operations to the original 13 participating airports,” adding “at least for the time being.” CNN said its Denver affiliate, KUSA, had used the benefit there the week before.

Bismarck Airport in North Dakota, which announced its participation on October 14, posted a notice on October 15 saying TSA had temporarily paused the expanded rollout. North Dakota airports cannot be selected on the application form, it said.

The airports’ accounts differ on how long the pause will last: “indefinitely” in Norfolk’s telling, “temporarily” in Bismarck’s. A TSA spokesperson did not answer WAVY’s questions about why the program was paused or whether it will return, and the agency had not responded to CNN either.

Why gate access was a big deal

Before the September 11 attacks, people without tickets could generally accompany passengers to their gates. The attacks prompted sweeping security changes, including restrictions on access to the secure side of airports, as the Associated Press noted when Gateside launched.

Today airlines issue gate passes only in very limited cases, such as accompanying a minor, a person with disabilities or a military member, according to TSA. Those pass holders go through the standard screening lanes.

A few airports carved out exceptions of their own. Pittsburgh International opened its airside terminal to the public on September 5, 2017, through a day pass called myPITpass, under a TSA pilot it billed as a first in the country, as State Aviation Journal reported at the time.

Tulsa runs its own TUL Visitor Pass, open to any non-traveler with a TSA-approved ID. The airport says it has been available since 2023 and has about 1,000 users a month.

Gateside is different because TSA runs it nationally and ties it to TSA PreCheck membership. It is free, open to PreCheck members and other Known Traveler Number holders, and requests are made one to three days ahead.

An approved pass is good for one calendar day with re-entry, and visitors use the PreCheck lanes. TSA says each participating airport caps the number of passes it issues per day.

What visitors should expect now

At the 13 pilot airports, Gateside is still listed and still taking requests. Anyone planning a visit there can apply as before through TSA’s portal.

Elsewhere, TSA has not said what happens to passes approved before the rollback. Its own rules tell visitors to check their approval status in the online portal before leaving for the airport, “to ensure their pass is valid and their status has not changed.”

At the checkpoint, visitors show ID and may be asked to show their approval on the portal dashboard itself, since TSA does not accept screenshots or printouts. Without a valid pass, the remaining routes past the checkpoint are an airline gate pass or an airport’s own visitor program where one exists.

Tulsa said in its October 1 announcement that Gateside would not replace the TUL Visitor Pass. Travelers elsewhere should check their airport’s website for a similar program before assuming the gate is off limits.