Originally Posted by
N1120A
For those who talk down on allowing non-passengers in - you obviously don't remember that pre-9/11, security took even less time to do the same thing and that terminals were still not crowded (despite more air travel). I'm all for allowing non-passengers back in if the checkpoint goes back to the old (good) style as well. It would be a boon for airport businesses at places like LAX that were built for that era.
Well, the airlines have policies which grant gate passes for things like lounge meetings (usually accompanying a conference room booking) and for picking up/dropping off children.
^^^^. Couldn't agree more. Not that I really wanna go and hangout at the airport everyday, but our property taxes go towards funding a lot of projects at airports for the cities we live in. If I want to visit something I paid for, I think I should be able to without flying, having a "declared business reason",etc.
I remember when we lived in Chicago driving out to O'Hare to pick up friends. If their flight was late or we got there early enough, we would always eat dinner, have a drink, shop, etc. By locking non-passengers out, these stores and restaurants aren't making what they should be making. There is a lot of money to be made for the stores, restaurants, and airports by letting non-passengers in, but guess who loses out in the money game, the Barney Fifes down the hall.
P.S. And for those who say we should pay to pass, my town just past a property tax last year to fund an airport taxiway and runway upgrade. Stupid idea, but I guess that's what you get when you allow non-property owners to vote on property tax issues. I've already paid enough to visit this airport.
