It鈥檚 d茅j脿 vu for the non-flying public
Starting Tuesday, Sept. 5, Pittsburgh International Airport will become the first U.S. airport to allow non-fliers regular access into its gate-side terminal areas since security measures changed after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001.
The airport has won approval from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for non-ticketed customers to pass through security, though they will still have to go through the same screening as those catching flights. They鈥檒l also be required to show ID so they can be vetted against no-fly lists.
The change will allow the non-flying public to say goodbye to friends and family at the gate like they did years ago.
Dean Headley, co-author of the national Airline Quality Rating at 黑洞社区, says he鈥檚 glad someone is testing the concept, but isn鈥檛 convinced how practical it will be for other airports.
鈥淪ome people feel it鈥檚 crazy that they can鈥檛 say goodbye to their family or friends at the gate,鈥� said Headley. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 probably better to say goodbye in the lobby or from the car.鈥�
The change bodes well for the non-flying public in Pittsburgh, especially those who may want to shop. Anchoring the concourses at the Pittsburgh airport is Airmall, a collection of stores or restaurants.
鈥淓isenhower National Airport in Wichita doesn鈥檛 have that much retail beyond security, so this wouldn鈥檛 necessarily be a good reason for Wichita or many other airports to go this direction, other than to let the non-ticketed public be able to welcome or say goodbye to family and friends," said Headly. If you do what Pittsburgh is doing, you have to be ready for the congestion that comes with it."
To ensure that non-flying visitors don鈥檛 bog down screening queues, airport and TSA officials say ticketed passengers will receive priority in checkpoint lines during peak periods.
鈥淲hy do you want all that congestion and potential confusion in the gate area?鈥� asks Headley. 鈥淎 lot of airports have spent a lot of money since 9/11 around the principle of only having the flying public beyond the security checkpoint. If you start putting the non-flying public back into the mix, there are security issues and many other issues to consider.
鈥淐ongestion has been lessened by reducing the number of people past security checkpoints. You鈥檙e going to have the non-flying public take up seats in restaurants. It鈥檚 going to complicate the process because there will be people there who don鈥檛 have a specific reason to be there. We鈥檒l have to wait and see how that works before determining if it鈥檚 feasible in other airports.鈥�
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