Starting Friday, people without a boarding pass will be allowed to walk past security checkpoints at San José Mineta International Airport for the first time in 25 years — as long as they carry a TSA PreCheck membership. The new program, called Gateside by TSA PreCheck, lets approved visitors meet arriving loved ones at the gate, browse terminal shops, and eat at sit-down restaurants that were previously off-limits to anyone without a ticket.
SJC announced the October 2 launch date on its official X account, noting that visitors will be able to shop for exclusive Ernie merchandise, eat at Trader Vic's, or attend airport events without needing a boarding pass, according to San José Mineta International Airport
. The airport's post specifically pointed to next year's National Aviation Week as one event non-ticketed visitors could attend under the new access rules. Gateside access is limited to travelers enrolled in TSA PreCheck, a federal trusted-traveler program that requires prior vetting and background checks.
The shift traces back to a broader federal policy change. The Transportation Security Administration rolled out Gateside by TSA PreCheck across an initial group of 13 U.S. airports in September, marking the first time since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that ticketless visitors have been permitted into secure terminal areas nationwide, according to the Associated Press. Non-passengers had been barred from secure airside gates without airline-issued gate passes ever since those restrictions went into effect a quarter-century ago.
Strict Limits on Who Can Get In
SJC isn't opening the floodgates. Under the airport's own rules, Gateside pass applications can only be submitted between one and three days before a planned visit, and the airport caps non-ticketed access at 75 approved passes per day at each security checkpoint, per flysanjose.com. Participating airports set these quotas to help avoid longer security lines.
Visitors still have to clear security like everyone else. TSA requires Gateside guests to present a REAL ID or another acceptable form of government photo identification at PreCheck lanes, and approved adults can bring children along by registering them through the same online pass application rather than showing up with a printed pass or screenshot. Some airports in the program's early rollout have already run into friction: an IT outage last month forced San Diego International Airport staff to process travelers by hand, a wrinkle Hoodline covered in its report on checkpoint crowding at San Diego. Columbus, Ohio's John Glenn International Airport was among the first to launch the program earlier in September, a rollout Hoodline detailed in its own coverage of the national policy shift.
Not Everyone Qualifies — Yet
Because Gateside is restricted to active TSA PreCheck members, plenty of San Jose-area residents without that membership will still be stuck outside security. To address that gap, SJC officials launched a public feedback survey alongside the Gateside announcement to gauge community interest in potential alternative visitor pass options for non-flyers who don't hold PreCheck. Roughly 20 U.S. airports currently run local visitor pass programs through standard security lanes, suggesting SJC may eventually pursue a broader option beyond the federal program's PreCheck requirement.
What's Waiting Past Security
For those who do qualify, the draw includes Trader Vic's Outpost, a full-service restaurant near Gate 22 in Terminal B that opened in June 2021 as one of only two airport locations worldwide for the Bay Area-founded tiki chain. Shoppers can also pick up Ernie the Baby Chick merchandise at Hudson Group stores past security — plush toys, keychains, and apparel tied to the airport's mascot, who commemorates SJC's inaugural commercial flight in February 1949, a trip that carried 2,550 baby chickens and seven human passengers. Ernie is named after former San José Mayor Ernest H. Renzel Jr., who led local efforts to build the city's first commercial airport. SJC expanded the Ernie product line in February with new keychains and restocked plushies after first partnering with Hudson Group in December 2024.
The Gateside launch arrives amid a string of upgrades at SJC, which processed roughly 10.7 million passengers across its two terminals in 2025, making it the Bay Area's second-busiest commercial airport, as Hoodline reported in its coverage of new concessions landing at the airport. The airport is also adding an 800-square-foot quiet sensory room called The Nest by Nutanix between Terminals A and B later this year, designed for neurodivergent travelers and anyone seeking a low-stimulation space, a project Hoodline covered when it detailed the airport's accessibility investments. Together, the Gateside rollout and the terminal upgrades point to an airport betting that opening its gates — literally — to more than just ticketed flyers can pay off both in goodwill and in retail dollars.
