Picked up my grandmother today and got the gate pass* to pick her up. Last year it was an actual multipart form that was filled out and I took to security. Today it was a boarding pass for a flight to Boston that said “Void without attached flight coupon”…which obviously was not attached, but had a gate number in the same security section.
The first security stop only made sure the name matched my driver’s license.
The second security person only wanted to see some piece of paper in my hand. (I shit you not, I had it folded in quarters - it could have been ANYTHING and I held it up and they waved me through.)
I forgot about the shoe thing. Note to self: Don’t wear the Timberlands when going through airport security - they don’t exactly slip on & off easily.
* Yes, Virginia, you can still go to the gate to pick someone up! Just go to the ticket counter and tell them you need a gate pass**. You need to present ID, and tell them who you’re picking up so they can check it against the manifest. You can only get 1 pass per incoming person, but it CAN be done. It may help that I walk up there and announce “I have to meet an elderly woman in a wheelchair” and I seem to have a massive protective attitude when doing it, but I don’t know of any actual “reason” that is required to get one.
** If you’ve lived in Japan, don’t go with the natural instinct of calling it a “platform pass” (pass to get to the train but not on it) cause they won’t know what the hell you are talking about.
