TSA Halts Gate Access Expansion After 301-Airport Announcement
Planned expansion to 314 airports stalls as the agency continues its operational assessment at 13 initial locations.
The Transportation Security Administration has frozen its Gateside program at 13 airports, shelving a planned expansion to 314 locations just one day after Tulsa International Airport announced the rollout would go nationwide. Non-ticketed travelers hoping to access secure gate areas beyond this month will have to wait.
Tulsa officials said Oct. 1 that Gateside by TSA PreCheck would add 301 participating airports beginning Oct. 2. A TSA spokesperson told FOX Business the agency is still running an “operational assessment phase” limited to the original 13 sites and evaluating participation levels. The spokesperson did not address why the local announcement contradicted federal timelines or when the freeze might lift.
Gateside launched in September at hubs including Los Angeles International Airport, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. It allows vetted visitors to pass through security without a boarding pass to eat at terminal restaurants, shop or meet arriving passengers.
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Delta Air Lines passengers seen waiting to retrieve their luggage after flight cancelations at La Guardia Airport on July 18, 2026. (Erik McGregor/LightRocket)
Applicants must hold active TSA PreCheck status with a valid Known Traveler Number. They are required to submit requests between one and three days before a visit, then clear standard PreCheck screening upon arrival.
A Southwest Airlines employee assists a passenger during their check-in at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on April 18, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
The initiative marks the first broad federal attempt to restore pre-Sept. 11, 2001, airport norms. Before the 2001 attacks, friends and relatives routinely walked non-travelers to departure gates. Post-attack aviation security laws restricted checkpoint access strictly to ticketed passengers and credentialed staff for more than two decades.
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Several airports previously bypassed the federal restriction using independent visitor passes. Pittsburgh International Airport introduced a non-ticketed access program in 2017, followed by similar local efforts in Tampa and Tulsa. The TUL Visitor Pass program operates separately from the federal Gateside framework.
Cars move through the horseshoe for arrival pickups and departure drop-offs near Terminal 2 at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on March 24, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. (Luke Hales)
TSA provided no timeline for expanding Gateside beyond the current 13-airport assessment.
