Agreed TWA hotel is a better plan. I wasn't paying attention to the international arrival.

If your mother is arriving on a Delta operated flight from CDG, she will arrive Terminal 4. If she is arriving on an Air France operated flight (most CDG-JFK flights sold by DL are actually AF operated, only one or two are DL operated) she will arrive Terminal 1. Both terminals dump arriving INTL passengers into a large, landside hall, so make sure you both have fully charged cell phones or something.

When escorting her back to security, make sure to confirm which terminal the RDU flight is operating from (2 or 4). Most likely it'll be the high B gates in T4 (so allow plenty of time to clear security and get to the gate).

El Boocho wrote:
Of course, even if she wasn't arriving INTL she could still have exited security to meet and go to the hotel :)

Thanks all -- Turns out I misremembered her itinerary when I was posting my initial query -- she came in from AMS and not CDG as I'd thought initially. I could see her flight landing from the AirTrain as I arrived to JFK, met her at the T4 baggage recheck, and we went off to see the TWA Hotel and have a drink at the Connie bar, before I got her back to T4 for the RDU flight. Delta wheelchair assist people were super friendly and helpful.

I'm pretty sure Delta does still issue gate passes. If you have the confirmation # they will often give you a gate pass. Just explain your situation. Sometimes I call ahead and have them make a note in the reservation so the check in agent can see.

Only for minors being seen off.

Sometimes they will give to assist other passengers (elderly and non-English speaking, for example) but you can’t count on it; it depends on an agent’s judgement. Therefore you can’t plan on it.

Quicker and easier just to buy a dummy ticket, get through security and then cancel it.

And only one gate pass.
With schedule change granddaughter (15) was an last flight to DSM and it left after our flight. After clearing customs we could only get one gate pass until I spoke to a red coat - who had no problem issuing a second pass.
We changed our flight to next morning (no additional cost) and I brought luggage to hotel.
Problem with gate pass - no PreCheck.
While walking thru terminal from shuttle to security I bought ticket on WN, used CLEAR, and cancelled WN ticket by the time I got to SkyClub.

I've had agents give the ok for family members who were neither elderly or minors. Also met friends past security for a few hours. There doesn't really seem to be a policy in place its more up to the agent's discretion.

Agent discretion applies to everything. At least at one time had a policy that stated when they would issue. TSA apparently was taking issue with number of gate passes being issued.

there's no need to make up a reason, just call in and say I want to cancel.

Wrong date would be an odd mistake to notice when you're checked in, airside in an airport, and probably sitting in the lounge.

I got a gate pass by request a year or two ago, as I’d left my Kindle on the plane and gotten through security when a lost item alert came over the PA. Granted this was at a regional airport and it wouldn’t surprise me if things were tighter at JFK.

I would have expected that your same-day boarding pass (if you hadn’t thrown it away) would have gotten you back through security. I know that at some airports arriving passengers can go back through security if they find they have a long wait for an airport pickup and want to get a meal.

At MSP this works--I once went back airside to use the SC while waiting for luggage that was on the next flight, rather than having it delivered the next day--but you don't get PreCheck even if it's on the boarding pass. [You can use elite lines; I'm not sure about CLEAR.]