USEast1

Can one obtain a gate pass from US Airways at CLT to eat in the airport while waiting for someone to arrive. I have to pick up multiple people with a couple hours in between and there is no food before the security checkpoint at CLT. How can one go about doing this? I have heard of these "gate passes" before, but who should I call, or just walk up.


thanks

edit: sorry if this doesn't belong in this forum, but i didn't know where else to ask and tried the search function. thanks for your help!

flyingcat

The only way that most people get in is because they have a club membership or they are meeting with disabled or child traveling alone.

Just being hungry and wanting to look at planes, which is a great thing, unfortunately does not pass muster these days.

coachrowsey

Sorry to say but I know of know way to get a gate pass under those circumstances. There is a very small snack shop baggage level between zones C & D with a few tables & most of the time the soup is good. I think they have snacks also.

natas43

Whenever my son has flown unaccompanied, I have never been able to obtain a gate pass. I'm not even sure a club membership will allow you to get through

DeacDiggler

There's that Starbucks on the ticketing level, and the little cafe on the baggage level. Or, just take your first arrival to the Ranch House for a quick meal - come out of the airport on the cab route (behind bojangles) - take a left on Wilkinson, and it's up on the right. Good steaks, although it doesn't look like much. Get a shrimp cocktail if you have a cold.

coachrowsey

Just another update on the gate pass thing. A couple weeks ago I was in uniform & tried to get my oldest son a gate pass to go meet my future daughter in law & her mom. They still would not let him have one. The agen said if it was up to him he would "but we are really being watched sorry".

I meant agent above still early.

PSU Mudder

Has anyone ever executed the "buy a refundable ticket" plan without getting thrown to the ground by the FBI? That might work.

ralfp

Last time I was in CLT waiting at the gate I sat next to someone waiting for his kid (gate pass).

bevoinva

My 7 year old son flys often into Dulles by himself and I always get a gate pass when picking him up. One time, my girlfriend was going with me and she bought a fully refundable ticket on Southwest to get through - no problems. On another occasion at Dulles, she was with me and just asked the Ticket agent if he would give her one. He kinda paused and said ok. I have had ticket agents specifically say that they will only allow one person to go through so YMMV.

EnvoyBoy

I get gate passes all the time meet my goddaughter, who's a UM.

Spiff

I have anectdotal evidence that this has worked at least once.

Oh, but not by me!

sbtinme

Yeah, same here. On various forums here on FT, there seem to be plenty of folks who claim to do this with some frequency, but I never have had the need to really consider it. Seems to me it's a fair amount of hassle just to get into the terminal.

CPRich

I've requested gate passes at a couple of airports to meet my family, with no problems, but CLT wasn't one of them.

coachrowsey

As far as I know if you were meeting a um or handicapped person a gate pass would probably be issued but not for the reason orig. rqstd here or even for the reason I had asked.

jchock1

I always want to meet my husband at the gate in CLT when he comes home. The best way I've found is to walk up and nicely ask an agent at the counter for a gate pass to meet your party. They'll ask why, you just tell them why (I haven't seen him in a long time, etc.). Ask nicely, and probably 30% of the time that will get me a pass.

If they say no, then I say I'd like to buy a fully refundable ticket to New York (there's always a flight leaving for New York). They then ask if I'm serious, I say yes. Since it's easier for them to print a gate pass than go through the effort to sell me a ticket, most often they'll relent and give me a gate pass.

If they don't give me the gate pass, I buy a fully refundable Y ticket to New York. The only con is this last-minute one-way purchase sometimes gets me flagged for extra security.

Once through security, I call to cancel the reservation so I don't have to stop back by the counter to cancel.

Of more than a dozen times doing this, I've never had any problems getting a refund--most of the time neither the purchase nor the refund even shows up on my credit card statement.