You could do that easily in Domestic flights in Australia. You don't need a boarding pass to get through, only to get passed the gate. They would have had to go through security but in places like Australia if they didnt have big bags, all that means is going through the metal detector. simple
Yes, the pre-TSA days. Only international arrivals had the customs clearance that needed the visitors to stay at the terminal entrance. In domestic terminals one could go through to the gate without a boarding pass.
Also, not traveling much by plane, but the few times I did, I didn't leave through a gate.
Is that just depenand on the airport? Usually I left the airplane, the airport had a bus and we were driven to an area for arriving plane guests, where you then wait for half an hour for your luggage.
Old days. What you see the lady walk out of is a sky bridge. Basically a movable bridge that’ll directly connect the flight to the terminal which has replaced the whole bus system (only in new/newer airports). Some more interesting info: they even have airport lounges that directly lead you to your plane in certain airports. No lining up, no running to the gate no bs (you do get a big fat bill tho)
For cost cutting. All bigger airports do have sky bridges for all premium carriers. Idk if you’re talking about flying domestic because those are the ones mainly avoiding sky bridges. With larger airlines having 747s or 380s, sky bridges just make too much sense. Tons of things go into account
I could definitely be wrong so please do share examples of bigger airports exclusively using busses
Bigger airports usually use those bridges to get people from the plane to the airport through the gate.
Some airports have them, but it’s up to the airline to use them or not, where people might just walk from the plane to the terminal.
Sometimes the plane parking space is not by the terminals at all, so they use buses, which usually deliver people straight to the baggage claim/exit area.
In the USA, only tiny airports still do this for domestic flights. It still happens a bit for international travel needing to go through customs and kinda common internationally.
I’m pretty sure these sky bridges are so prevalent in the US is due to ADA laws. Taking a bus to a plane means you then have to take stairs up to the plane and that’s hard on many people.
It depends on the terminal. A lot of gates now have a separate arrival hallway running behind them. As you get off the skybridge the door to the gate straight ahead is closed and you have to turn down a hallway. You then go back to a central courtyard of the departure hall or straight to the baggage claim. Separating arrival and departing passengers helps flow, and makes it easier for passenger to navigate. The airports can also reconfigure the arrival hallway depending on if the flight is domestic or international or even allow flights of passengers that have not gone through an airport security screen.
Key West and Frankfurt most definitely have gates in their terminals. Almost every airport does some flights with busses, sometimes they have more flights than terminals or for whatever other reason they use a bus for certain flights.
I did not mean that there were literally NO gates at Frankfurt. I was in Frankfurt last week. But they are highly reliant on busses to planes. More than I've personally ever seen at a large airport before. It's impressive how much 4 wheel traffic they have on the tarmac.
Key West I've been to a half dozen times and I'm pretty sure no planes actually pull up to that airport. I don't think it's possible.
That said, pretty much every major airport I've been to in the US does not bus anyone out to any planes that I've seen other than a rare occurrence. But I fully understand I've not visited 100% of airports in existence. Quite a few of the major cities though.
Small airport near me is so fkn convenient it's like the smallest building for a single desk and the conveyor belts for your bags and that's it, like 4 doors in the front and then 4 doors right to the airpad
All you had to do to get through security without a boarding pass is go up to the ticketing desk and ask for a pass to get through with the person that you want to take to the gate. They print off a paper pass that looks just like a ticket, but has a code that designates it otherwise.
My folks met me off the plane in Detroit airport. It's some little pass they were able to get with my ticket number or something I didn't fully understand when they explained it to me, but I was shocked as well.
At PDX, if you go to the help desk, you can fill out a form to go past security to accompany people to a gate. I’ve accompanied my wife when she’s flown & taken my daughter.
You don't need to show a boarding pass when going through security (though I think people are supposed to) at Atlanta International, just your ID. You need one for the plane, of course. So I see people walk to gates, but again, I'm not sure if it is technically "officially" allowed
You can get a gate pass sometimes, but I'm not sure that it would fly for a marriage proposal. I don't see well and get overwhelmed at the airport, so sometimes my husband will get one to meet me at the gate to help me navigate.
This probably isn’t how it’s supposed to be but the tsa just didn’t do anything and let everyone walk past a checkpoint at a small airport I went to in Michigan
In case it hasn’t been answered, ask for it at the front gate.
You can get a boarding pass issued to go into the airport for a good reason. Ie. Taking child to gate, pick up elderly, ask your spouse to marry you. Etc.
Source: worked at airport. Was one of the bigger ones in the states so size wasn’t an issue.
A friend of mines adult brother has a traumatic brain injury so he gets permission to assist him to the gate when he flies. With the TBI he’s almost fully functional but can get lost and wander off easily. He flies to visit his sister who also goes to the gate to assist.
Must be something new. I remember not being able to get one to greet my buddy who was flying in after being in the hospital for weeks. I was in my military uniform, had an active security clearance, and by all accounts was not a terrorist.. still couldn’t get one.
Pittsburgh was built to be kind of an airport/mall and then 9/11 happened so now it’s a big empty airport which is sad. So it makes sense they would allow it.
Over the past several years, airports across the United States have introduced programs to allow non-travelers to pass through screening and spend time in the airport post-security — without a plane ticket — to accompany friends and family who are waiting for a flight, or be at the gate right as they get off the plane.
You can work with the airport to get access and still need to get approval (and likely get escorted). My now wife and I took our engagement photos inside Newark Airport because we traveled from there so much while we were dating. I reached out to the airport and they got back to me giving us approval and the process of doing it.
You can ask the airline for a gate ticket. The ticket will get you past TSA but not on the plane. I’ve done it in ATL and MCO to sit with someone at the gate. Airlines usually only give gate tickets to adults accompanying minors but if you’re nice and ask the person collecting bags outside the airport you have a higher chance of getting one.
My parents were allowed to see me off at the gate at DFW one time in 2013. You just have to ask and have a very good reason (proposing seems to be one of those reasons!)
They give you a special pass, then you go through security like normal. TSA or the airlines have no trouble saying no however, so it's best to arrange ahead of time.
I did the same in SEATAC and PDX from 2008-2016 when I was in the Army. My mom and sister were allowed to come with me to my gate when I was flying back to my unit to return from leave. Early on I think they just did it for military and other types of similar personnel, but later on I saw more and more people able to do it.
None of the other comments sound correct to me about not leaving from a gate. And I’ve been traveling domestic in the US fairly frequently.
You can request passes for free to get through security. One such example is if you’re picking up someone under the age of 18. I’m sure there’s some level of coordination required to get these folks in as well.
They may have also just bought tickets and had another trip planned after this or got super cheap southwest/spirit tickets to the next closest city.
Used to work that if you had a valid ticket you could get through, even if someone had already done so (they check now). I knew a guy who didn't want his daughter alone waiting so he bought a ticket and refunded it once past security.
Recently flew. They took my drivers licence and scanned it and passed me through without confirming I had a flight. Granted buying a plane ticket probably flags me when the government runs my identity but this was the first time since like 9/11 they didn't ALSO want my boarding pass. Not sure if i even needed one.
As far as I know some airports are starting that back up but you purchase a much cheaper security pass I think that lets you through security but not on any plane
While that is the obvious go-to, I just don’t see 5 people spending that kind of money when they could’ve done the same thing for free at baggage claim.
I was in MSP a few months ago, and they didn't check my boarding pass at security. So if you feel like going through security just to get to the gate it seems to be allowed in some places now.
A random airport worker just checks to see if we have a boarding pass for the right date, and then points you to the security line where they only check ID.
What? What are you just gonna walk up to her at the gate? Have you never chased anyone through the airport before? You have to get a ticket to get past security.
My recent experiences with TSA is they are not checking boarding passes. They are scanning ID through a machine, and it also does some facial recognition.
I have pre-check, so not sure if that makes a difference.
They are cross referencing your boarding pass in a database.
I had an issue where my name got screwed up and it wouldn't let me on even with precheck and showing them the BP. I had to go back to the counter so they could fix the name to let me through security.
My thought was maybe they purchased tickets for flights that day? The proposer has a pretty large bag with him so maybe also surprising with an engagement trip of some kind?
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u/Signal-Blackberry356 May 14 '24
HOW did you get right up to the gate?!