I have memories of waiting for my dad as a kid at the gate when he came home from a business trip. I would press my face to the glass as I watched planes take off and land. All of that changed with September 11th, when non-ticketed passengers were not allowed past security. I had not really thought much about this until my elderly mother came to visit (she would argue, however, that she is not elderly at 85).
While my mom is more than capable of maneuvering through her local airport, big unfamiliar airports intimidate her, especially when there is a clock ticking until her next flight. When she flies alone, we always select gate assist when reserving her ticket which comes with a personal guide through the airport (and a wheelchair).
With the discovery of Seattle’s visitor pass program, I got to share breakfast with my mom before her flight and found myself back at that same gate, this time watching her plane taxi away instead of watching for my dad’s plane to taxi to the gate. It turned out to be so much more than breakfast.
🧭 Travel Tip: It may be worth checking if your own airport has a visitor pass program. Your Mileage May Vary has a list of the 28 airports that now allow unticketed passengers through TSA security.
Update (9/9/2026): TSA has rolled out Gateside by TSA PreCheck, letting PreCheck members through security without a boarding pass at select airports. It’s not quite breakfast with Mom at the gate, but if you’ve got PreCheck, it’s one more way to skip the goodbyes at the curb.
That’s a great tip! Thank you and what a wonderful memory.