I am one of those who don’t mind doing airport drop offs and pickups. Often I will actually park and walk the person to security or meet them when they come out. I miss the days when you could go through security with the person, walk them to their gate, and wave to their plane as it pushed back. Or welcome them with a smile at the gate as they deplaned. Most drop offs today are about speed and efficiency; the driver will barely roll to a stop, people rush out of the vehicle, bags are thrown to the curb, there are a few quick goodbyes, and then everyone skedaddles before being yelled at by the authorities. 

Back in 2018, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) initiated a new program called the SEA Visitor Pass Program. This free program essentially lets you travel back in time to when a non-flying visitor could go through security. I have been wanting to try the program first-hand, but an opportunity never came up… until recently. I had a friend flying in from Montana and I decided to give it a shot. I didn’t let them know my game plan and my hope was to surprise them at the gate. 

I would say that for the most part things went pretty smoothly and it was worth the experience. However, I am not sure this will become a regular thing for me.