MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Back here in the U.S., remember when you could walk people to their gate at the airport? The idea of running through the terminal to confess your love wasn't just made-up movie stuff. Hard to remember, I know, because all that changed after 9/11. But now the TSA says it's going to let more people through airport checkpoints without a boarding pass. NPR's Bill Chappell reports.
BILL CHAPPELL, BYLINE: The new federal program is called Gateside. The TSA says it could benefit travelers and airports. To use it, you'll need TSA PreCheck or a similar status. Visitors sign up at least a day in advance and still go through the usual security screening. Families could meet grandparents or teenagers right when they arrive. TSA administrator David Cummins says it could ease some anxiety, for instance, if you have an elderly parent.
DAVID CUMMINS: You can accompany them through the gate, make sure they can get through our baggage and body scans fine.
CHAPPELL: Thirteen airports are in the first phase of the program, from Will Rogers International in Oklahoma City to LAX in Los Angeles. Cummins wants it to grow fast.
CUMMINS: We're hoping to have all 430 airports rolled out by the end of the year.
CHAPPELL: About 20 U.S. airports already offer day passes for visitors. Philadelphia International is one of them.
INAYA MANDER: We have currently about 600 people using the pass per month.
CHAPPELL: That's Inaya Mander, the airport's director of marketing. As for who's visiting, she says there's a dad whose sons just love airplanes.
MANDER: Or if a friend is coming to the airport and they have a layover in Philadelphia for a few hours and you just want to, like, connect with them.
CHAPPELL: Cummins says the push for more access came from the public.
CUMMINS: And this is something that they have wanted, and it's something that we haven't had for 25 years, since TSA was stood up, since those horrible 9/11 terrorist attacks 25 years ago this week.
CHAPPELL: The TSA will monitor the new program to be sure it doesn't cause longer security wait times, because that's something nobody wants.
Bill Chappell, NPR News.
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