Originally Posted by wahooflyer
Really? I thought that once an airport provided a selectee screening area for TSA at the main checkpoint, SSSS and "random" screening at the gate went away and airlines no longer had to check ID at the gate.
That's what a US Airways agent at LAX T1 once told me; according to her the gate ID check was a TSA policy. I don't know if her explanation was correct or not, but I haven't been to a single airport lately that checks ID at the boarding gates. LAX T1 was one of the few remaining places that performed SSSS (and checked ID) at the gate; it didn't receive a selectee area at the checkpoint until just a few months ago.
I may be wrong on this, but I think all TSA airports no longer conduct selectee screening at the departure gates. Of course, if a selectee should pass through the checkpoint without
specifically undergoing selectee screening, then it will done at the gate. Don't ask me to explain it; that's the rule; hence, my cynical view towards selectee screening.
Checking IDs is something completely different. Perhaps a better way of phrasing it would be that airlines are not obligated to check IDs at the gate as a matter of routine since TSA conducts selectee screening at the checkpoint. Of course, this depends upon airport configuration; some airports have checkpoints at the gates themselves as opposed to one centralized checkpoint that serves a concourse. If an airline is checking your ID at the gate, then it's for a different reason than TSA policy (for example, international flights that require passports).