Airport gate greetings are back, if you get a pass

Washington Post

07-03-2025

Like many folks of a certain age, Daniel Roberts fondly remembers airport gate-side greetings.
Which is why, when he recently picked up his teenage daughter Emma at the airport during a visit home from school in California, he decided to do so just outside her flight's arrival gate. For permission, he had to submit a copy of his ID two days beforehand, but he said that the process went smoothly and that the results were worth it.
'When she spotted me, her face lit up,' Roberts said. 'You could see the moment she realized I was right there. It was priceless, like a reunion out of the movies.'
Roberts isn't the only person yearning for old-school airport greetings and goodbyes. And more airports are making them happen, a sign that these once-beloved rituals of a bygone era are on their way back, at least in some capacity.
New programs at a handful of airports are allowing nontravelers such as Roberts to score guest or visitor passes that allow them to go through Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints to meet passengers at their gates. Some airports, including Salt Lake City International, have added comfortable spaces in the main terminal so nonpassengers can wait for and greet arriving passengers. Others offer free or discounted short-term parking.
Demand for gate access by nonpassengers is also up as airports increasingly morph into destinations with restaurants, bars, retail shops and other forms of entertainment. Most airports offer nonpassenger passes to those meeting or seeing off minors, as well as those with disabilities, but not all allow people in for lower-key greetings.
Airport officials say nonpassenger gate-access programs are popular. Since the November 2023 launch of Philadelphia International Airport's Wingmate Pass program, more than 10,300 nonticketed guests have been escorted to or have greeted passengers at gates, said spokesperson Heather Redfern. Feedback for such programs has been mostly positive, according to airport representatives.
At least one program has become too popular. Demand for Orlando International Airport's Experience MCO Visitor Pass Program was so great that it has been suspended while officials determine how and whether to keep up.
Gate greetings and send-offs were once among the most emotionally important parts of a trip. People would wait just outside the arrival gate door, sometimes while dressed in goofy getups while toting balloons or homemade signs of welcome, congratulations or even matrimonial proposals.
Things were similarly festive at departure gates, where you could hug someone at the boarding door and watch them get on the plane as you blew kisses and hollered goodbyes.
Airport arrival and departure rituals joined other pop culture tropes, with emotional flying-related moments appearing in such popular movies and TV shows as 'Casablanca' and 'Friends' for the finale.
But hijackings and other security threats changed that in the 1970s and '80s. Nonpassengers could still access gate areas, but typically first had to pass through security checks.
The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, pretty much ended gate-related merriment. Nontravelers were generally no longer allowed beyond increasingly fortified security checkpoints.
Cellphones soon played their part, too, by eliminating the need to wait in person to see when someone's plane would land. A brief text or call now simply summons you to the baggage claim. Ditto for flight-tracking apps.
But now those in the travel industry see fresh opportunities in a comeback, according to Justin Keeperman, co-founder of Miami-based luxury concierge company WGY Travel.
'I've seen an increasing number of clients interested in re-creating the golden age of travel — where an emotional airport reunion wasn't just at baggage claim,' Keeperman said.
His company helps people apply for permission to access gate areas, and he says that's one of WGY's more sought-after client perks.
Airports that let nonpassengers into gate areas require applications, usually more than a day in advance. Some, including Detroit Metropolitan Airport, allow participants to apply the same day.
The number of passes allowed per day also varies. The BNA PASSport at Nashville International Airport lets 75 people in per day, and Seattle-Tacoma International displays its daily countdown on its way to the 300-person limit.
As with ticketed passengers, you'll need to bring a valid ID, such as a driver's license or passport, and you can't carry anything that wouldn't normally be allowed on a plane. Check the airport's website for more details.
The passes are great for celebrating arrivals, and sometimes they're used to calm nerves for departures.
Jamie Bichelman, a clinical psychologist in Las Vegas, said a note from a health-care provider can often persuade airport officials to allow friends and family members of passengers with anxiety to accompany them to the gates to help comfort them, even at airports without such nonpassenger-pass programs.
'People often assume that if you're not in a wheelchair or otherwise visibly disabled that you don't have one,' he said. 'Some people have very real anxiety about flying.'
Even at airports where gate greetings and goodbyes remain mostly a memory, people have found ways to keep the ritual alive. The scene outside Miami International Airport's international arrivals baggage claim area is a stage for any number of joyful family reunions.
'Twenty-four hours a day, there are people greeting arriving passengers, families reuniting,' said Mark Howell, a TSA spokesman. 'It's this scene of love. … The [gate-greeting] ceremony is still alive. It's just moved.'
Roberts, who greeted his daughter at the gate in California, said he plans to chase that magic again.
'It definitely made me appreciate the small things, like the time you get to really see someone's reaction when you're not in a hurry,' he said. 'It's a different vibe when you don't have to rush through security and can just take your time. It felt almost nostalgic, like travel was a bit more personal.'
Paul Abercrombie is a freelance writer based in Tampa.