Originally Posted by
eyecue
It stands to reason though that there must be some form of regulation to the secured area. The ID and boarding pass is that regulation. The other option is that anyone can go out to the gate and that would be too much foot traffic to handle and the cases of theft would go out of site.
I thought the notion of a secured area was to ensure that banned, dangerous substances can't easily be put on board aircraft. Checking ID is doing nothing to cut down on foot traffic. You want the gate areas limited to those flying? Then make BP's standard and have a scanner at security. If the BP is legit, the pax can come through. Who they are is of ZERO matter.
To the post above mentioning Osama (aka he-who-must-not-be-named), I couldn't care less if he boards my flight, as long as he's not smuggling anything dangerous on board in his newly-dyed beard.