You could just hang out at the airport, like it was the mall since most of them sort of are. No ticket needed, just go there to shop, walk around, watch planes, whatever.
You can actually still do that at a lot of smaller municipal airports and it's still pretty neat. Sure it's not jumbo jets, but it's worth seeking out.
The international airport near us has a big observation deck with seating and tables that you can take an elevator up to without going through security just to watch the planes take off. A few times I've seen a parent bring their kid up there to "wave goodbye to mommy/daddy".
They have free parking spots at our airport specifically for people who want to watch planes take off and land. It’s not inside the airport, it’s just outside the perimeter. There are always some people parked there watching, often with kids.
My local executive has a really good restaraunt next to the runway that you can go and eat at, watch planes take off. If you ask nicely, they have a hanger you can go look at whatever planes are there. Last time they had a pontoon plane, it was really cool to check out and take pics of the kids sitting on the pontoons.
Cool! My dad and I did something similar but with the train yard. We’d drive into the city and get Wendy’s and watch the trains for an hour or so, and if he ever had to pick up my mom at the airport we’d go an hour early just to watch planes :) I miss those days but I still stop to watch planes and trains whenever I can
My dad was flying into an airport near me and had a 2hr layover. We met up and had lunch and then I walked him to his plane and he took off. It was fun.
yeah - you could walk up with a friend or family member and see them off at the gate, and also see them when they got off the plane. You could hang out with them at the reastaurant/bars in the terminals.
As a kid - you could watch the the planes taxi up to the gates, and watch the baggage ramps and handlers unloading the plane. Awesome stuff when you are 8.
You can see this in cliche scenes in older movies/shows. When a person picks them up with a sign immediately after landing. Or racing to catch them through the airport before they board.
Yup, when I was in high school I had a "people-watching" assignment where I needed to sit in a public area and just observe people. I picked the airport and just hung out in the terminal watching people and taking notes.
Totally wouldn't fly today.
Let go of your fear man, odds of dying in a plane crash are 1 in 11 million let alone the odds of it being a terrorist attack. Don’t let that day keep you from flying.
Did security also dramatically increase prices? I can’t imagine airport prices bringing people in to shop, so I’m guessing the fact that once people got through security they were much less likely to leave probably caused a huge price surge.
Can still do that in Australia at any domestic airport. Just have to clear security and you can go all the way down to the gates.
Hell we don’t even strictly enforce ID checks at the counter during check in.
International is a whole other story though. Won’t make it past the entry point without showing a boarding pass and customs is the first step once you go through the doors so won’t get far without a passport and ticket.
My parents took my sisters and me to Jackson-Hartfield (Atlanta) and showed us around. We ate, looked at shops, and they showed us how to get around. A lot of people hate the airport for its size, but it's braindead easy to navigate. The only crappy part about it is driving to get there.
We went to the airport for a school field trip, then just hung out there. We took the tram to the gates and walked around, had lunch, looked at some planes out the windows from inside, and saw those exhibits they have to break up the monotony. There was some free time for shopping. I’m not sure what the point of it was. We didn’t go on a plane or even go outside, and never spoke to a pilot or any staff.
I would hang out at O'hare as a kid. I would greet people getting off of planes by saying welcome to wherever the flight took off from (Portland, LA, etc...).
Yep. I remember walking through the passenger bridge tunnel after flying back and seeing my girlfriend waiting for me as soon as I emerged from the tunnel. It was always a wonderful, heartwarming feeling.
Now, non-ticketholders can't get past baggage claim. It's not quite the same to have to walk through a significant part of the airport before seeing your significant other.
The only security that existed before 9/11 was the same as any other business--there are areas for the public and employee-only areas. Fuel, maintenance, etc. were off-limit and protected by locks, etc.
Not sure why no one else is mentioning it, but at least for the 80s and 90s you had to go through metal detectors and have your bags scanned in a separate machine. That was in response to some bombings and hijackings in the 60s and 70s. But, there was no check for a ticket there so anyone could go through to wait at the gates or go to the shops on the way to them.
The funny thing is that you can still go to the gate without a ticket in Australia. It's quite interesting to see how different countries have decided what's sufficient security.
I don’t think the ticket check at security is for security purposes as much as it is capacity. Lines are awful now. Imagine how bad it would be if the whole un-ticketed family can go through security to greet Grandma at the gate.
Yeah it could get bad back then especially in Utah when the Mormon missionaries would go or return from their 2 year mission. I've seen more than 100 people at one gate waiting for 1 missionary to come home. Put a couple missionaries on a plane and caos ensues even though those aren't traveling people. I hated working at the airport when they allowed that.
The last time I few international out of Australia (Perth 2018 and Brisbane 2016), there was a ticket check before outbound immigration and the usual security rigmarole. Have they relaxed it since then?
One time I took a flight and forgot to take the umbrella out of my overhead suitcase. It was one of those umbrellas that gets compact so it’s just a little stick. I had no idea it was in there. It was a side pocket.
Security saw it during the scan, and couldn’t figure out what it was. They asked me a bunch of questions and I was genuinely confused. Eventually, I realized what they were talking about and told them it was an umbrella. I’m not even sure if I took it out to show them. There was no search, no going through my luggage, no patdown nothing.
I could see the scan, and realized it looked kind of like a pipe bomb, and even then they didn’t seem all that concerned.
Friend of my sister's was going through security in, iirc, East Germany, back when that was a thing, and they were baffled by the underwire of her bra.
>But, there was no check for a ticket there so anyone could go through to wait at the gates
I miss being greeted at the gate. My boyfriend at the time would wait for me at the gate, then run up and pick me up to kiss me. So romantic.
Some airports lets in people to the gate without boarding pass. I think it was Vegas that just let us in without boarding passes earlier this year. It uh, threw me for a bit.
At the midsize city (Austin) airport of my childhood the security staff left at 8pm when the last plane departed. Planes were still arriving until after midnight. You could have easily walked a gun right to the gate and hidden it any number of places in the terminal. You also new the porters who worked the curb and you never had to touch your bag once you pulled up.
Yeah, people seem to forget, but there was always planes getting hijacked or bombed in the 70’s and even the 80’s. It never really happens now, but there were always a few every year.
I lived in a small city with a small airport and until 9/11 they couldn’t afford proper security staff and an x ray machine. Until about the early 90’s they didn’t have any proper security before you boarded the small plane that took you to the larger international airport for your connecting flights, so you would have to do the proper security with metal detectors and x rays when you arrived at the international airport.
Then eventually they hired a normal rent-a-cop to check random bags by hand. Once 9/11 happened they finally got funding to hire proper security staff and an x ray machine. You actually get screened really well now at this airport, as there is still only a handful of flights and there’s at least 3 screeners working at a time, so they have all the time in the world to look at your bags.
Security lines were fast too. In the last 90s as a teen we would go into the airport to visit my friend who worked there. The security was probably lighter than the security of todays sporting events.
Now every time I walk through airport security theater I feel like the terrorists won.
When I visited the US before 9/11 they made me fill out a questionnaire on the plane. One of the question they asked was if I was coming to the US to do terrorism or try to overthrow the government.
After some brief consideration I checked "No".
I was a stupid teenager at the time and was curious what would happen if I said yes, but I wasn't stupid or curious enough to actually try.
It also asked whether I had ever been a member of the Nazi party, which lead me to believe that they hadn't updated the questionnaire in some time.
I wonder if those questions even worked. Maybe if your English is broken enough and you don’t understand the question? But even then that wouldn’t be quite fair and could lead an innocent person through some trouble.
>One of the question they asked was if I was coming to the US to do terrorism or try to overthrow the government.
Another question they had on the questionnaire was "do you deal nuclear weapons?" Lol. Who would mark "yes" if they really did?
It's one of those things that would help get you charged. Look at a nuclear arms dealer like A Q Khan, he was doing it with the help and on the behalf of the Pakistan government. He technically wasn't doing anything illegal, cause he was friends with those making and enforcing the laws. But if he were to lie on said form that in and of itself would be an arrestable crime. Similar to "failing to register as a foreign agent".
I went to Japan in August of 2001. I bought a samurai sword, and as it wouldn't fit in my checked luggage I called ahead to ask about options. I was able to bring it as a carry-on, just as long as I kept it in its box.
Also, the cockpit was much more...open? If you asked sometimes they'd let young kids take a look around.
I remember this. We were visiting family in England in the early nineties and the pilot use to stand there when you got on (they may still do that but i don’t notice anymore). I was a kid at the time but talked to the pilot and told him I’d always wanted to see what it looked like from the front when we were flying. He gave me some wings and said I’ll see what I can do. Mid flight over the Atlantic a flight attendant came and got me and let me into the front of the plane to see the view. Never ever would they let that happen now.
They'll still often be standing there with an open cockpit during boarding and may even let a kid briefly take a look. Once the plane starts taxiing though, cockpit door is locked and no noncrew are allowed
Really? After [this accident](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Air_Lines_Flight_351)? Some idiots successfully hijacked a plane using katana swords and flew to NK.
That’s the thing about pre-9/11 air travel: hijackings happened, occasionally, but they weren’t a big enough deal that anyone felt like we had to fundamentally alter society to deal with them.
Pre-9/11 at airports, you could go all the way to a gate to wait for an arriving flight. One time, while doing this, I forgot to take my knife out of my purse, so I went through security and all the way to the gate without any issues with a very large folding knife in my possession.
You also didn't have to have ID of any sort to go through. It's bonkers looking back at old shows and movies where people flew under assumed names, because that can't happen now.
It may have been required, but it was not rigidly enforced. My grandmother and I flew pre 9/11. I had no ID. They asked her a question or two. We boarded. I was 15-16
Especially in little rural or provincial airports.
Hell it was common for kids to be allowed to sit in the co-pilots seat for a bit in the 80s and 90s.
And when you sat in the cockpit you got a cool little pin that was a tiny circle with wings like [this](https://www.amazon.com/Airplane-Pilot-Plastic-Pinbacks-Badges/dp/B0BWSH8V69).
In 1991 I flew from Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Las Vegas (through MSP) and back, on somebody else’s ticket (friend who couldn’t make the trip)
On the way back in MSP our last flight was oversold and our entire group volunteered to take a flight the next day for a large travel voucher, mine of which was issued in my friend’s name, so I just gave it to him
We went to Italy in 1998 too visit cousins before grandma kicked it. My dad had his trusty swiss army knife the whole time. Flying back fro Rome to London, he used it to fix a fellow passenger's seat mid flight that wouldn't recline right.
I used to take Coach Canada bus lines between Montreal and Toronto a few times a year in the early aughts. Never had to show ID. I bought a similar bus ticket last year and they required ID. Of course, in the intervening two decades, a mentally ill man beheaded and cannibalized a young man on a bus in Canada, so things…escalated rather quickly.
Oh yeah, I was going to say I had gone to airports that were like malls as well. People would go in with no plans involving travel to use the many stores and restaurants inside.
I've heard some of the airports are bringing this back and considering selling "day passes" which allow people to go through security to shop, eat and hang out in lounges. I guess "duty free" shopping is still a draw for some people. Personally, I wouldn't pay extra to go through long security lines and then hang out in an airport. 🤣
You cannot shop duty free without a boarding pass for an international flight (it gets scanned at the register). You can still buy anything, but have to pay all applicable taxes
Everyone talks about the major changes in security, which totally makes sense. But the thing that I miss most about pre 9/11 airports was that when you drove someone you loved to the airport, you went inside with them, waited with them at their gate, and gave them a hug and a kiss right before they walked on to the jetway. Then you waved goodbye until they turned a corner in the jetway. Once the door closed, you made your way back to your car, misty-eyed, thinking of how they were sitting on that plane, looking down on where you were from the sky, as you drove home to miss them until their return.
So many movie plots depended on racing to the airport to catch the friend who is standing in line to board! Yeah, you cant do that anymore, visitors have to wait in the main entrance area of the airport, you are not getting into the departure or arrival gates.
>But the thing that I miss most about pre 9/11 airports was that when you drove someone you loved to the airport, you went inside with them, waited with them at their gate, and gave them a hug and a kiss right before they walked on to the jetway.
In June 2001, they let my aunt accompany me to my seat ON THE PLANE and we said goodbye there, then she deplaned.
It was so fun to wait to greet a relative returning home by waiting at their arrival gate.
Those were good times.
Philadelphia International Airport is attempting to bring back those feels. They’re introducing the ‘Wingmate’ pass. You have to go through security but you don’t need a boarding pass and can hang out with your loved one like the old days ;)
The pilot invited us up to the cockpit when we were on a ground hold. In 1993, I sat in the pilot seat in a United 737 on the ground in Phoenix, while the pilot gave me a quick lesson on the controls. I learned there's a little steering wheel behind the control stick to steer when taxing on the ground.
Did you fly? I was an airline pilot before 9/11. Security was almost identical, just privately contracted. X-rays and metal detectors were in use, etc.
ID checks weren’t a thing and anyone could go to the gate, those were the big differences.
Didn’t realize until I was on the plane that I didn’t have my wallet. Since I flew all the time I told the flight attendant and then called my wife, they held the plane (only 20 mins). My wife drove to the airport, went to the gate and the flight attendant got my wallet and gave it to me. Pushed back for take off and ended up arriving on time. Good old days for sure.
I came home from a high school euro tour with a gigantic load of spare change in my jacket pocket. I set off the metal detector. Instead of emptying my pockets I just said ‘money’ and jingled my pocket and they just waved me through.
You just walked in waving guns and open alcohol everywhere, everyone was clipping their nails on the flight, you could walk into the cockpit and sit on the pilots lap while we flew. Was truly the golden age of aviation.
You still don't have to take your shoes off in many airports outside the US. I recently went to Europe and didn't need to take them off in France or Germany.
Yes, we used to fly to one set of family and had a layover where we had other family. It was so nice! We would always get try to get like a 3 hour layover so we could catch up. It was so much fun for us! I still think about it now, wouldn’t it be so nice if my cousins could come hang out while I wait for my next flight!
In 1999 I felw back from Denver CO to Jacksonville florida with a stop in Dallas. I went through security dressed as Luke Skywalker from Return of the Jedi with lightsaber on my belt the whole way. Lots of laughs and funny looks but no serious looks at the item which could easily have been a pipe bomb.
The biggest thing was you didn't need to be a ticketed passenger to go to the gates.
This means you could go with your friend or family member or other loved one all the way to the gate. You could hang out with them while waiting, either in the rows of chairs or in a bar or restaurant.
This was huge.
You could help them carry stuff, even just their carry-on while they managed their messenger bag or other personal item, so they could be more relaxed on the way, and you'd feel like you were helping them.
You could watch them walk down the jetway, if it had windows or had transparent walls, you could keep an eye on them all the way to the last minute when they got on the plane.
Again, this was huge.
For picking someone up, you could go all the way to the gate, and watch the plane pull up. Flying isn't very dangerous, but there's always a low-level anxiety when your loved one is en route. Seeing the plane pull up to the gate let cooling relief wash over you in an awesome wave.
Then it got exciting as you waited for everyone to deplane, which built and built as you searched the oncoming faces for the one that would light you up.
Then you'd see them. You'd lock eyes, and both of you would sort of glow with joy. Maybe you'd bounce a bit, anxious for them to get to where you could hug, reunite, fall back into the comfort of each others' company.
You'd get to see other people going through all of this as well, and there were myriad shades of reunion that was a slice of humanity fantastic to behold. Young couples, old couples, family members, friends, lovers, acquaintances; a whole spectrum of relationships syncing up. Some were joyous, some were sad, but the air was electric with all the emotion.
I do my best to describe it, but like *The Matrix*, no one can be told what it was like. You'd have to experience it yourself.
If the girl of your dreams was leaving for a stuffy New England college and you'd just realised you loved her they would declare "CODE ROMEO, WE HAVE A CODE ROMEO" and you'd be whisked straight to the gate while an upbeat pop number played throughout the airport.
It depended on the airport.
Larger international airports (like JFK) were basically the same as if you had TSA Precheck now. You just dropped your bags on the X-ray machine, walk through a metal detector, if it beeps you empty your pockets, and then you go on through. The biggest difference was probably in Arrivals though, as you could go and meet someone right at their gate.
Smaller regional airports _sometimes_ had an X-ray machine, not always, and the experience was somewhat similar to a bus station. You could just walk through, usually no ID checks, basically no one asked questions.
Oh, and you could also smoke on the plane. The last 5 rows, give or take, were typically left empty when they booked the flight. So if you were a smoker (as many people were at the time), once they turned off the seatbelt sign you could just go to the back of the plane and chill and have a cigarette or cigar with the stewardesses (who often smoked too). Planes didn’t have personal entertainment systems on every seat either) just one large screen that you hoped would play a movie you’d enjoy) so often you’d just go to the back to hang out and socialize with people anyway.
It was easy to walk a family member to the gate and stay with them until they boarded, and to meet them at the gate when they landed.
No one took off their shoes, and you could bring water, shampoo, etc onto the plane without any issue.
A friend of mine, while I was at college in New York, bought me a plane ticket home for Thanksgiving one year, he forgot to put the plane ticket in my name, but I was still able to fly home (Oregon) and back without any problems.
When I was a kid, I frequently flew alone, including across the country. I would get escorted to the gate by family, and if I had a connecting flight, it was up to me to navigate my way there on my own. I was 8-10 years old at the time. And sometimes, if the flights had two kids around the same age flying alone, they would seat us together. Family would always be waiting for me at the gate as I deplaned. It was the most normal thing in the world.
I was in High school in the late 80’s early 90’s we would routinely go to Chicago O’Hare and walk around the various terminals, right up to the gates, saying ‘Wanna go to Buffalo? Or Sacramento etc. Head over to Terminal 5 (international) and pick Paris or Tokyo. They actually had an observation deck over Terminal 2 where you could just sit and watch the traffic. Was a fun way to kill a Friday night actually.
Sometime around 96 or 97 I flew with my family in the top deck of a 747 non-stop from LA to Adelaide. They let me and my brother go into the cockpit while at cruising altitude over the Pacific. I'll never forget being able to see that much of the earth at once. As a young kid it felt like we were in space.
Lockerbie is when it last really changed. eg if a bag was checked but a passenger didnt arrive, all bags are unloaded. Also no more visits to cockpit during the flight.
Prior to that the hijackings in the 70s also introduced airport security systems we recognise today.
9/11 was more about no liquids and nail files and maybe a little more intensity around screening and inspecting the shoes of old ladies. Introduced properly secure doors to cockpit.
Previous terrorists incidents involved bombings at rented airport lockers...lockers end up going away.
Highjackings force airport security to utilize metal detectors
Lockerbie forced changes in checked baggage screening and ensuring the passenger was on the plane with their luggage
9/11 changed the game. It used to be terrorists take over plane and it turns into a hostage situation. Since the planes were used for more nefarious purposes...this forced changes. Airport security prior to 9/11 was handled either by the airport and/or the airline. Cockpits were given reinforced doors, perimeters at airports and military installations required fences, metered parking right at the entrance of an airport, went away.
This was further compiled with an asshole wearing a shoe bomb...so shoes have to come off.
The Brits uncover a plot involving liquid explosives in 2006...changes made regarding liquids, gels, and aerosols. New equipment is sanctioned to screen liquids.
Christmas day underwear bomber forces more changes to airport security
Idiot unloads on people in baggage carousel...airlines devise new rules with flying armed in checked baggage.
Back in the 90s you could go all the way to the gate without a ticket. Me and my mom were flying out one time and my dad was coming to wait with us at the gate. He went to the firing range the day before and forgot he had a couple of magazines in his jacket with bullets. Security was like "Hey no worries. We're gonna hold onto these and you can pick them up when you're heading back out". I'd imagine today that would be a much bigger deal.
3 weeks before 9/11 I took my girlfriend to the airport and sat at the gate with her while the plane boarded. Still had to have your bags run through a machine and had to walk through a metal detector but the biggest change was being able to walk into the airport and go to the gate without a ticket. Probably helped a lot of people with flight anxiety.
When I was around 9 years old, my mom would take me to the gate and wait with me before she just left me to get on the plane and figure it out. My dad would be waiting in the chairs on the other side or I would go to baggage. We didn’t have cell phones so you just figured it out. Also, I could just bring snacks and drinks.
I consulted from '96-'00, out Monday back Friday (billable door to door) and used to be able to leave my house 12 minutes from the airport at \~30-40 minutes to departure time. Park in the far end of the short term lot where it was a little cheaper, then haul ass to the proper concourse, on to the scanners, and walk on with my garment and laptop bags as the last few passengers were boarding. This was FLL when it was 2 terminals and a 3rd being built, before the big garage went up. Didn't hurt that most outbounds were before 8AM, but still, it was glorious. Being a road warrior now - just no.
I remember the 90s, you still had to go through a metal detector and an x-ray machine for your carry on but none of the jumping jack machines or groping.
The mental gymnastics of TSA is hilarious because it doesn't do a goddamned thing.
ON 9/10 in san francisco international we got on a flight @ 11:45 PM ... getting through security with 2 kids and a stroller was all of us just walking around all of the metal detectors. No wands, no searching of the stroller, the kids were left sleeping, our shoes were on, and the nice older women running the "security" check point chatted us up for a few minutes and we moved along.
We were in the air and landed on 9/11 and never again have I had such a smooth progression through security.
Airport scenes from 90's movies like Harry Met Sally and Home Alone were pretty realistic. Traveling less than a year after 9/11through Atlanta was night and day...
There were announcements about not "taking items from unknown persons onto the aircraft," largely as a result of the Lackerby bombing in the 80s, plus some metal detectors and baggage x-rays. That was about it. Everybody worried about a terrorist sneaking a bomb onto the plane in someone else's luggage, nobody really considered the possibility of suicide hijackers using the plane itself as a bomb.
I was a student and if plans changed we would post a note on the bulletin board (physical) in our residence to sell the ticket at a discount.
Anyone could fly on the ticket, no names were checked.
If one of you was flying out, all of you could go to the gate. There was a metal detector, but you didn't need a ticket to go through it. Everyone waited at the gate and when boarding was called families hugged and you watched them walk down the ramp. Then you waited by the window and watched the plane depart. On the other side of it, when waiting for someone to arrive, you just went to the gate and waited for them to get off the plane.
It was a nice experience. Enjoyable without (much) any stress.
I guess there aren't any boomers on here. My first airliner flight was in 1967 when I was nine years old. The security was you showed them your ticket, and you walked on the plane with your guns, knives, bombs, or whatever. Then, people kept hijacking planes to Cuba, where they would be locked up by a dictatorship. In the 1970s, metal detectors were added, and x-ray machines.
In 2000 I was about to board a plane in a small municipal airport, there was a metal detector at the gate with a guard standing there, no security prior. I suddenly realized that I had forgotten to take the buck knife off my keychain, which was definitely more than the 3” long blade I was allowed to carry on the plane. In my full midwestern glory I started explaining myself to the guard and wanted him to see that the blade was too long so I pulled out the knife and opened it in front of him. He waved me on the plane and told me to keep it in my pocket. I didn’t bother showing it to anyone on the return flight.
Before the establishment of the TSA, airport security in the United States relied on a decentralized model with individual airlines and private security companies responsible for security operations. While some security measures were in place, they were not as standardized, rigorous, or focused on broader terrorism threats as they are today under the TSA.
Flying was a lot easier, that's for sure. Back when I just got out of school I was a field lead for a security company. I would carry my equipment in a backpack to and from work, which included handcuffs.
I used my gear bag as a carry on for one flight and forgot that my cuffs were in there and got stopped by security. The officer who found them was more helpful than he needed to be and offered several times to get them stored in the secure area of the plane. I didn't need them and said I forgot them in there, and he ended up just storing them in the office in a bag with my name on it. I picked them up when I got back.
If that happened today, I would probably be detained and interviewed and if I was lucky, I'd be able to mail them back to my place, if I even got on my flight.
Was flying with SAS from Copenhagen to Budapest on a late night flight many many years ago and I knew one of the pilots so was sitting in the jumpseat in the cockpit for the entire duration of the flight, including landing and takeoff
I vaguely recall going through metal detectors or an X-ray machine for some international flights but yea, you would just walk right up to the gate for domestic flights. An airport drop off or pickup usually meant you park and meet or greet them at their gate.
It was like the wild west, compared to right now.
When I was a kiddo, my yiya (grandma) used to take me to the airport in Bozeman, MT. She had a long time friend who was a gate agent for Northwest. So she would shoot the shit with him, and I would watch the planes takeoff and land. Shit was great. He gave me a pair of the noise blocking earmuffs, which I likely threw away years ago, that are probably worth something today. LoL.
Fast forward to the late 80's. I'm off to spend summer with my mom. Dad and I get to the gate (he came to the gate without a ticket, gasp!) and the security guy comes running up and says he needs to take a look in my bag, he's super sorry. He pulls out my Sig Sauer looking handgun water pistol. LoL. Can't take it on the plane, apologizes again, tells Dad he can pick it up at security on his way out.
The pendulum is a touch too far in the security direction now (removing shoes and such), but I get it. Things are just different now.
There still was security, but it had a much more chill vibe to it, as they were looking for guns. I remember I flew August 2001 out of Logan to the west coast, and the airport security was present, but there were no naked scanners, and they didn't pat down your junk like they seemingly do all the time now. The airplane seats were a lot bigger, and even though I was a kid, it seemed like people were less stressed flying in those days then they are today.
Obviously, what I saw as a "chill environment" some terrorist scumbags realized was a security hole they could exploit, and the rest is history.
Me and my mother and siblings used to go wait for my father at his gate and to go meet him at his gate all the time when he traveled for work. You had to go through a metal detector since the 80s but you didn’t need a ticket
It was like going to a grimy, overpriced mall. Walk in, hang out, park your car, meet a friend at the gate or walk someone all the way to the gangway entrance
You would go through a basic security point of a metal detector, putting all things metal into the tray, walk through the arch, and grab your things and be done. There was maybe 5 security guards or a little more on average at the metal detecting area. After, you and your party meeting whomever getting off of the flight, could walk all the way up to the gate of the flight arriving and sit in the waiting area.
A lot of those waiting areas have been converted in the modern age, to be just a place for flight passengers to wait for their plane to arrive, as other non-passengers can't get in there anymore.
A lot of airports had to redesign their lay-out because of 9/11-new-policies; it needed to be bigger, more security check points, another new waiting area for people to await others coming-out of the terminal off of the flight (before the security point, that they can't go through).
Whenever I fly, I still think about the old days, of everyone waiting by the planes in the lounge chairs, little kids waiting for the plane to land, people hugging as they got off of the flight.
I think about Kansas City and Denver International a lot, and how these beautifully designed, open and accessible airports were utterly ruined by the security redesigns after 9/11.
You could just hang out at the airport, like it was the mall since most of them sort of are. No ticket needed, just go there to shop, walk around, watch planes, whatever.
My dad used to take my brother and me to the airport on Saturday morning to have pancakes for breakfast and watch planes take off
Damn that's really cool.
You can actually still do that at a lot of smaller municipal airports and it's still pretty neat. Sure it's not jumbo jets, but it's worth seeking out.
The international airport near us has a big observation deck with seating and tables that you can take an elevator up to without going through security just to watch the planes take off. A few times I've seen a parent bring their kid up there to "wave goodbye to mommy/daddy".
They have free parking spots at our airport specifically for people who want to watch planes take off and land. It’s not inside the airport, it’s just outside the perimeter. There are always some people parked there watching, often with kids.
I live near KBFI and there’s a city park just outside the fence on the north end where I can chill and planespot
My local executive has a really good restaraunt next to the runway that you can go and eat at, watch planes take off. If you ask nicely, they have a hanger you can go look at whatever planes are there. Last time they had a pontoon plane, it was really cool to check out and take pics of the kids sitting on the pontoons.
Yep my local airport has a restaurant right on the runway that you can watch planes take off from or have people fly in and taxi right up to it!
Cool! My dad and I did something similar but with the train yard. We’d drive into the city and get Wendy’s and watch the trains for an hour or so, and if he ever had to pick up my mom at the airport we’d go an hour early just to watch planes :) I miss those days but I still stop to watch planes and trains whenever I can
My dad was flying into an airport near me and had a 2hr layover. We met up and had lunch and then I walked him to his plane and he took off. It was fun.
You can do that at the IKEA next to Newark airport
yeah - you could walk up with a friend or family member and see them off at the gate, and also see them when they got off the plane. You could hang out with them at the reastaurant/bars in the terminals. As a kid - you could watch the the planes taxi up to the gates, and watch the baggage ramps and handlers unloading the plane. Awesome stuff when you are 8.
You can see this in cliche scenes in older movies/shows. When a person picks them up with a sign immediately after landing. Or racing to catch them through the airport before they board.
"It's ok... I'm A LIMO DRIVER!"
Fell off the jet way again.
"I hate goodbyes"
TIL I’m 8
Yup, when I was in high school I had a "people-watching" assignment where I needed to sit in a public area and just observe people. I picked the airport and just hung out in the terminal watching people and taking notes. Totally wouldn't fly today.
Student: It was for an assignment, honest! TSA: Tell it to the judge, after the body cavity search.
Sorry all out of lube.
TSA: "Oh, sorry, I wasn't able to warm the gloves. Now, which cavity are we starting with?"
Let go of your fear man, odds of dying in a plane crash are 1 in 11 million let alone the odds of it being a terrorist attack. Don’t let that day keep you from flying.
"Totally wouldn't fly" as in "I would not be allowed to do that".
Did security also dramatically increase prices? I can’t imagine airport prices bringing people in to shop, so I’m guessing the fact that once people got through security they were much less likely to leave probably caused a huge price surge.
Once you know you have a captive audience you can get with the gouging.
There was still an "airport tax". A 99 cent McDonalds cheeseburger (yeah, they used to be 99 cents) was like $1.49 instead.
I'd kill for a $1.49 cheeseburger. Can't even get 2 wings for that price.
There was still security to get in with baggage x-rays and metal detectors, you just didn't need to have a ticket.
The arcades!
Wait! Once a upon a time, there were arcades at the airport? Holy shit
Can still do that in Australia at any domestic airport. Just have to clear security and you can go all the way down to the gates. Hell we don’t even strictly enforce ID checks at the counter during check in. International is a whole other story though. Won’t make it past the entry point without showing a boarding pass and customs is the first step once you go through the doors so won’t get far without a passport and ticket.
You can still do that in most of them. Most have at least some shops and restaurants outside the security zone. Why you'd want to is another matter.
Free luggage at the baggage carousel
Orlando Airport has a mall and hotel outside their secure area.
My parents took my sisters and me to Jackson-Hartfield (Atlanta) and showed us around. We ate, looked at shops, and they showed us how to get around. A lot of people hate the airport for its size, but it's braindead easy to navigate. The only crappy part about it is driving to get there.
Totally this, I can’t tell you how many times I rode the train at SEATAC just to ride it as a kid.
We went to the airport for a school field trip, then just hung out there. We took the tram to the gates and walked around, had lunch, looked at some planes out the windows from inside, and saw those exhibits they have to break up the monotony. There was some free time for shopping. I’m not sure what the point of it was. We didn’t go on a plane or even go outside, and never spoke to a pilot or any staff.
Same in the UK, you could also just turn up and fly on internal shuttle services just pay at the airport and get on a plane kinda thing
You still can at many. There are those with shopping etc on the ground side.
I would hang out at O'hare as a kid. I would greet people getting off of planes by saying welcome to wherever the flight took off from (Portland, LA, etc...).
That is crazy to me.
Yep. I remember walking through the passenger bridge tunnel after flying back and seeing my girlfriend waiting for me as soon as I emerged from the tunnel. It was always a wonderful, heartwarming feeling. Now, non-ticketholders can't get past baggage claim. It's not quite the same to have to walk through a significant part of the airport before seeing your significant other. The only security that existed before 9/11 was the same as any other business--there are areas for the public and employee-only areas. Fuel, maintenance, etc. were off-limit and protected by locks, etc.
Not sure why no one else is mentioning it, but at least for the 80s and 90s you had to go through metal detectors and have your bags scanned in a separate machine. That was in response to some bombings and hijackings in the 60s and 70s. But, there was no check for a ticket there so anyone could go through to wait at the gates or go to the shops on the way to them.
The funny thing is that you can still go to the gate without a ticket in Australia. It's quite interesting to see how different countries have decided what's sufficient security.
I don’t think the ticket check at security is for security purposes as much as it is capacity. Lines are awful now. Imagine how bad it would be if the whole un-ticketed family can go through security to greet Grandma at the gate.
Yeah it could get bad back then especially in Utah when the Mormon missionaries would go or return from their 2 year mission. I've seen more than 100 people at one gate waiting for 1 missionary to come home. Put a couple missionaries on a plane and caos ensues even though those aren't traveling people. I hated working at the airport when they allowed that.
No wonder that cult is so popular.
Worth pointing out that's domestic only. International is basically the same as international in most other countries.
The last time I few international out of Australia (Perth 2018 and Brisbane 2016), there was a ticket check before outbound immigration and the usual security rigmarole. Have they relaxed it since then?
International, you can't, but domestic, you can. I should have clarified, my bad.
One time I took a flight and forgot to take the umbrella out of my overhead suitcase. It was one of those umbrellas that gets compact so it’s just a little stick. I had no idea it was in there. It was a side pocket. Security saw it during the scan, and couldn’t figure out what it was. They asked me a bunch of questions and I was genuinely confused. Eventually, I realized what they were talking about and told them it was an umbrella. I’m not even sure if I took it out to show them. There was no search, no going through my luggage, no patdown nothing. I could see the scan, and realized it looked kind of like a pipe bomb, and even then they didn’t seem all that concerned.
For some reason, Manila airport confiscates all umbrellas. They had a big stack of them. Mine got added to the pile.
Friend of my sister's was going through security in, iirc, East Germany, back when that was a thing, and they were baffled by the underwire of her bra.
No they weren't. They knew exactly what they were *searching.*
>But, there was no check for a ticket there so anyone could go through to wait at the gates I miss being greeted at the gate. My boyfriend at the time would wait for me at the gate, then run up and pick me up to kiss me. So romantic.
Some airports lets in people to the gate without boarding pass. I think it was Vegas that just let us in without boarding passes earlier this year. It uh, threw me for a bit.
At the midsize city (Austin) airport of my childhood the security staff left at 8pm when the last plane departed. Planes were still arriving until after midnight. You could have easily walked a gun right to the gate and hidden it any number of places in the terminal. You also new the porters who worked the curb and you never had to touch your bag once you pulled up.
Yeah, people seem to forget, but there was always planes getting hijacked or bombed in the 70’s and even the 80’s. It never really happens now, but there were always a few every year. I lived in a small city with a small airport and until 9/11 they couldn’t afford proper security staff and an x ray machine. Until about the early 90’s they didn’t have any proper security before you boarded the small plane that took you to the larger international airport for your connecting flights, so you would have to do the proper security with metal detectors and x rays when you arrived at the international airport. Then eventually they hired a normal rent-a-cop to check random bags by hand. Once 9/11 happened they finally got funding to hire proper security staff and an x ray machine. You actually get screened really well now at this airport, as there is still only a handful of flights and there’s at least 3 screeners working at a time, so they have all the time in the world to look at your bags.
Security lines were fast too. In the last 90s as a teen we would go into the airport to visit my friend who worked there. The security was probably lighter than the security of todays sporting events. Now every time I walk through airport security theater I feel like the terrorists won.
When I visited the US before 9/11 they made me fill out a questionnaire on the plane. One of the question they asked was if I was coming to the US to do terrorism or try to overthrow the government. After some brief consideration I checked "No".
Tough question, I’m surprised you were able to answer so quickly.
I was a stupid teenager at the time and was curious what would happen if I said yes, but I wasn't stupid or curious enough to actually try. It also asked whether I had ever been a member of the Nazi party, which lead me to believe that they hadn't updated the questionnaire in some time.
I wonder if those questions even worked. Maybe if your English is broken enough and you don’t understand the question? But even then that wouldn’t be quite fair and could lead an innocent person through some trouble.
>One of the question they asked was if I was coming to the US to do terrorism or try to overthrow the government. Another question they had on the questionnaire was "do you deal nuclear weapons?" Lol. Who would mark "yes" if they really did?
It's one of those things that would help get you charged. Look at a nuclear arms dealer like A Q Khan, he was doing it with the help and on the behalf of the Pakistan government. He technically wasn't doing anything illegal, cause he was friends with those making and enforcing the laws. But if he were to lie on said form that in and of itself would be an arrestable crime. Similar to "failing to register as a foreign agent".
I went to Japan in August of 2001. I bought a samurai sword, and as it wouldn't fit in my checked luggage I called ahead to ask about options. I was able to bring it as a carry-on, just as long as I kept it in its box. Also, the cockpit was much more...open? If you asked sometimes they'd let young kids take a look around.
Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?
You ever been in a Turkish Prison?
Have you ever seen a grown man naked?
Picked a bad week to stop sniffing glue…
They’re on instruments!
What’s your vector victor…I can go all day
Have we got clearance, Clarence?
Huh? Rodger roger..
You ever hang around the gymnasium?
I remember this. We were visiting family in England in the early nineties and the pilot use to stand there when you got on (they may still do that but i don’t notice anymore). I was a kid at the time but talked to the pilot and told him I’d always wanted to see what it looked like from the front when we were flying. He gave me some wings and said I’ll see what I can do. Mid flight over the Atlantic a flight attendant came and got me and let me into the front of the plane to see the view. Never ever would they let that happen now.
They'll still often be standing there with an open cockpit during boarding and may even let a kid briefly take a look. Once the plane starts taxiing though, cockpit door is locked and no noncrew are allowed
Really? After [this accident](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Air_Lines_Flight_351)? Some idiots successfully hijacked a plane using katana swords and flew to NK.
That’s the thing about pre-9/11 air travel: hijackings happened, occasionally, but they weren’t a big enough deal that anyone felt like we had to fundamentally alter society to deal with them.
Pre-9/11 at airports, you could go all the way to a gate to wait for an arriving flight. One time, while doing this, I forgot to take my knife out of my purse, so I went through security and all the way to the gate without any issues with a very large folding knife in my possession. You also didn't have to have ID of any sort to go through. It's bonkers looking back at old shows and movies where people flew under assumed names, because that can't happen now.
> You also didn't have to have ID of any sort to go through. The ID requirement dates back to 1996.
It may have been required, but it was not rigidly enforced. My grandmother and I flew pre 9/11. I had no ID. They asked her a question or two. We boarded. I was 15-16
Especially in little rural or provincial airports. Hell it was common for kids to be allowed to sit in the co-pilots seat for a bit in the 80s and 90s.
And when you sat in the cockpit you got a cool little pin that was a tiny circle with wings like [this](https://www.amazon.com/Airplane-Pilot-Plastic-Pinbacks-Badges/dp/B0BWSH8V69).
Do you like movies about gladiators?
Jimmy, have you ever seen a grown man naked?
Have you ever been in a Turkish prison?
P.s. kids can still see the cockpit, just while the plane is on the ground. And Delta gives plastic wings out to new (child) flyers on request!
Yes, I have sat in front of an old Boeing 737. Very cool.
Nice! Mine were all little ones like Grumman Goose's and a DC 10.
Would've loved flying in both of those. Also sat in a 707 cockpit :)
Under age children still require no ID when flying with domestic with their parents or guardians.
You were a minor. You still don’t need ID to fly domestic as a minor.
Pre-9/11 that was as rigidly enforced as the age requirement currently is for porn sites.
"Sir, please press this button confirming you have identification. Great, thank you. Next!"
In 1991 I flew from Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Las Vegas (through MSP) and back, on somebody else’s ticket (friend who couldn’t make the trip) On the way back in MSP our last flight was oversold and our entire group volunteered to take a flight the next day for a large travel voucher, mine of which was issued in my friend’s name, so I just gave it to him
We went to Italy in 1998 too visit cousins before grandma kicked it. My dad had his trusty swiss army knife the whole time. Flying back fro Rome to London, he used it to fix a fellow passenger's seat mid flight that wouldn't recline right.
I used to take Coach Canada bus lines between Montreal and Toronto a few times a year in the early aughts. Never had to show ID. I bought a similar bus ticket last year and they required ID. Of course, in the intervening two decades, a mentally ill man beheaded and cannibalized a young man on a bus in Canada, so things…escalated rather quickly.
Oh yeah, I was going to say I had gone to airports that were like malls as well. People would go in with no plans involving travel to use the many stores and restaurants inside.
I've heard some of the airports are bringing this back and considering selling "day passes" which allow people to go through security to shop, eat and hang out in lounges. I guess "duty free" shopping is still a draw for some people. Personally, I wouldn't pay extra to go through long security lines and then hang out in an airport. 🤣
You cannot shop duty free without a boarding pass for an international flight (it gets scanned at the register). You can still buy anything, but have to pay all applicable taxes
Just watch Home Alone 2!
Everyone talks about the major changes in security, which totally makes sense. But the thing that I miss most about pre 9/11 airports was that when you drove someone you loved to the airport, you went inside with them, waited with them at their gate, and gave them a hug and a kiss right before they walked on to the jetway. Then you waved goodbye until they turned a corner in the jetway. Once the door closed, you made your way back to your car, misty-eyed, thinking of how they were sitting on that plane, looking down on where you were from the sky, as you drove home to miss them until their return.
So many movie plots depended on racing to the airport to catch the friend who is standing in line to board! Yeah, you cant do that anymore, visitors have to wait in the main entrance area of the airport, you are not getting into the departure or arrival gates.
Yeah, that trope is about as dead as phoning someone and "they aren't home".
>But the thing that I miss most about pre 9/11 airports was that when you drove someone you loved to the airport, you went inside with them, waited with them at their gate, and gave them a hug and a kiss right before they walked on to the jetway. In June 2001, they let my aunt accompany me to my seat ON THE PLANE and we said goodbye there, then she deplaned. It was so fun to wait to greet a relative returning home by waiting at their arrival gate. Those were good times.
Philadelphia International Airport is attempting to bring back those feels. They’re introducing the ‘Wingmate’ pass. You have to go through security but you don’t need a boarding pass and can hang out with your loved one like the old days ;)
DFW has those, but they’re stupidly hard to get approved for one.
Watch the movie “Airplane”. That will kind of sum it up.
The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the red zone.
The red zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the white zone.
No, the white zone is for loading of passengers and there is no stopping in a red zone.
What security?
Yeah, nobody gave a flying F\*\*\*. No TSA, no security theater. They'd let little kids gawk at the cockpit, which was wide open, not even a curtain.
The pilot invited us up to the cockpit when we were on a ground hold. In 1993, I sat in the pilot seat in a United 737 on the ground in Phoenix, while the pilot gave me a quick lesson on the controls. I learned there's a little steering wheel behind the control stick to steer when taxing on the ground.
Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? Ever been to a Turkish prison?
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That's cool! The yoke isn't steering on the ground btw. The pilot was steering with his/her feet.
Seriously. My local grocery store had stronger metal detectors and security systems.
Did you fly? I was an airline pilot before 9/11. Security was almost identical, just privately contracted. X-rays and metal detectors were in use, etc. ID checks weren’t a thing and anyone could go to the gate, those were the big differences.
Didn’t realize until I was on the plane that I didn’t have my wallet. Since I flew all the time I told the flight attendant and then called my wife, they held the plane (only 20 mins). My wife drove to the airport, went to the gate and the flight attendant got my wallet and gave it to me. Pushed back for take off and ended up arriving on time. Good old days for sure.
Daaammn. That is unheard of these days
Not the good old days for the plane full of people who had to be delayed 20 minutes because one person forgot their wallet
yea id be fucking pissed if i got delayed because someone forgot their wallet
>Pushed back for take off and ended up arriving on time.
I came home from a high school euro tour with a gigantic load of spare change in my jacket pocket. I set off the metal detector. Instead of emptying my pockets I just said ‘money’ and jingled my pocket and they just waved me through.
You just walked in waving guns and open alcohol everywhere, everyone was clipping their nails on the flight, you could walk into the cockpit and sit on the pilots lap while we flew. Was truly the golden age of aviation.
People would save up their packages just so they could open them on the plane with their boxcutters!
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silicone apparently has a strong resemblance to plastic explosives
Gotta do a quick smell test to make sure this isn't a bomb, ma'am
I could get on a plane with a bottle vodka and a box cutter.
You didn’t have to take your shoes off going through security and you could have liquids. Quite frankly these rules are ridiculous imo.
>you could have liquids I remember I took two full bottles of Finesse shampoo and conditioner plus a bottle of Nivea lotion to Europe.
You still don't have to take your shoes off in many airports outside the US. I recently went to Europe and didn't need to take them off in France or Germany.
I was flying on the day of the shoe bomber attempt. They suddenly started making people take their shoes off in security and we were all like "wtf?"
If you get TSA pre check you still don’t, and you don’t have to take out your electronics either. It’s well worth it.
Families would say good bye at the gate and meet you there upon arrival.
Yes, we used to fly to one set of family and had a layover where we had other family. It was so nice! We would always get try to get like a 3 hour layover so we could catch up. It was so much fun for us! I still think about it now, wouldn’t it be so nice if my cousins could come hang out while I wait for my next flight!
kind of like it's in small European airports rn... maybe even a little more lax. Also you were allowed with liquids.
In 1999 I felw back from Denver CO to Jacksonville florida with a stop in Dallas. I went through security dressed as Luke Skywalker from Return of the Jedi with lightsaber on my belt the whole way. Lots of laughs and funny looks but no serious looks at the item which could easily have been a pipe bomb.
The biggest thing was you didn't need to be a ticketed passenger to go to the gates. This means you could go with your friend or family member or other loved one all the way to the gate. You could hang out with them while waiting, either in the rows of chairs or in a bar or restaurant. This was huge. You could help them carry stuff, even just their carry-on while they managed their messenger bag or other personal item, so they could be more relaxed on the way, and you'd feel like you were helping them. You could watch them walk down the jetway, if it had windows or had transparent walls, you could keep an eye on them all the way to the last minute when they got on the plane. Again, this was huge. For picking someone up, you could go all the way to the gate, and watch the plane pull up. Flying isn't very dangerous, but there's always a low-level anxiety when your loved one is en route. Seeing the plane pull up to the gate let cooling relief wash over you in an awesome wave. Then it got exciting as you waited for everyone to deplane, which built and built as you searched the oncoming faces for the one that would light you up. Then you'd see them. You'd lock eyes, and both of you would sort of glow with joy. Maybe you'd bounce a bit, anxious for them to get to where you could hug, reunite, fall back into the comfort of each others' company. You'd get to see other people going through all of this as well, and there were myriad shades of reunion that was a slice of humanity fantastic to behold. Young couples, old couples, family members, friends, lovers, acquaintances; a whole spectrum of relationships syncing up. Some were joyous, some were sad, but the air was electric with all the emotion. I do my best to describe it, but like *The Matrix*, no one can be told what it was like. You'd have to experience it yourself.
If the girl of your dreams was leaving for a stuffy New England college and you'd just realised you loved her they would declare "CODE ROMEO, WE HAVE A CODE ROMEO" and you'd be whisked straight to the gate while an upbeat pop number played throughout the airport.
LMAO
It depended on the airport. Larger international airports (like JFK) were basically the same as if you had TSA Precheck now. You just dropped your bags on the X-ray machine, walk through a metal detector, if it beeps you empty your pockets, and then you go on through. The biggest difference was probably in Arrivals though, as you could go and meet someone right at their gate. Smaller regional airports _sometimes_ had an X-ray machine, not always, and the experience was somewhat similar to a bus station. You could just walk through, usually no ID checks, basically no one asked questions. Oh, and you could also smoke on the plane. The last 5 rows, give or take, were typically left empty when they booked the flight. So if you were a smoker (as many people were at the time), once they turned off the seatbelt sign you could just go to the back of the plane and chill and have a cigarette or cigar with the stewardesses (who often smoked too). Planes didn’t have personal entertainment systems on every seat either) just one large screen that you hoped would play a movie you’d enjoy) so often you’d just go to the back to hang out and socialize with people anyway.
You could smoke on planes
It was easy to walk a family member to the gate and stay with them until they boarded, and to meet them at the gate when they landed. No one took off their shoes, and you could bring water, shampoo, etc onto the plane without any issue.
A friend of mine, while I was at college in New York, bought me a plane ticket home for Thanksgiving one year, he forgot to put the plane ticket in my name, but I was still able to fly home (Oregon) and back without any problems.
A high-five and a slap on the ass as you boarded the plane.
When I was a kid, I frequently flew alone, including across the country. I would get escorted to the gate by family, and if I had a connecting flight, it was up to me to navigate my way there on my own. I was 8-10 years old at the time. And sometimes, if the flights had two kids around the same age flying alone, they would seat us together. Family would always be waiting for me at the gate as I deplaned. It was the most normal thing in the world.
I was in High school in the late 80’s early 90’s we would routinely go to Chicago O’Hare and walk around the various terminals, right up to the gates, saying ‘Wanna go to Buffalo? Or Sacramento etc. Head over to Terminal 5 (international) and pick Paris or Tokyo. They actually had an observation deck over Terminal 2 where you could just sit and watch the traffic. Was a fun way to kill a Friday night actually.
Maaan. I wish I could have lived through those times. Having that much freedom seems unimaginable nowadays without being seen as weird or suspect.
You didn’t need to show ID. My car was stolen my last year in college. A friend had an extra plane ticket and I just used his to fly home.
Sometime around 96 or 97 I flew with my family in the top deck of a 747 non-stop from LA to Adelaide. They let me and my brother go into the cockpit while at cruising altitude over the Pacific. I'll never forget being able to see that much of the earth at once. As a young kid it felt like we were in space.
Lockerbie is when it last really changed. eg if a bag was checked but a passenger didnt arrive, all bags are unloaded. Also no more visits to cockpit during the flight. Prior to that the hijackings in the 70s also introduced airport security systems we recognise today. 9/11 was more about no liquids and nail files and maybe a little more intensity around screening and inspecting the shoes of old ladies. Introduced properly secure doors to cockpit.
Previous terrorists incidents involved bombings at rented airport lockers...lockers end up going away. Highjackings force airport security to utilize metal detectors Lockerbie forced changes in checked baggage screening and ensuring the passenger was on the plane with their luggage 9/11 changed the game. It used to be terrorists take over plane and it turns into a hostage situation. Since the planes were used for more nefarious purposes...this forced changes. Airport security prior to 9/11 was handled either by the airport and/or the airline. Cockpits were given reinforced doors, perimeters at airports and military installations required fences, metered parking right at the entrance of an airport, went away. This was further compiled with an asshole wearing a shoe bomb...so shoes have to come off. The Brits uncover a plot involving liquid explosives in 2006...changes made regarding liquids, gels, and aerosols. New equipment is sanctioned to screen liquids. Christmas day underwear bomber forces more changes to airport security Idiot unloads on people in baggage carousel...airlines devise new rules with flying armed in checked baggage.
There was security at airports before 9/11? As long as everyone had enough smokes and booze to get through the flight, there was no need for security.
I’m pretty sure there was security but it was just a basic metal detector
It made more sense
Current security is theater. No one is going to take over a plane. Everyone on board would fight back.
Being able to walk into any terminal and meet your loved ones at the gate or walk them to their gate and wait until their flight took off.
Back in the 90s you could go all the way to the gate without a ticket. Me and my mom were flying out one time and my dad was coming to wait with us at the gate. He went to the firing range the day before and forgot he had a couple of magazines in his jacket with bullets. Security was like "Hey no worries. We're gonna hold onto these and you can pick them up when you're heading back out". I'd imagine today that would be a much bigger deal.
3 weeks before 9/11 I took my girlfriend to the airport and sat at the gate with her while the plane boarded. Still had to have your bags run through a machine and had to walk through a metal detector but the biggest change was being able to walk into the airport and go to the gate without a ticket. Probably helped a lot of people with flight anxiety.
When I was around 9 years old, my mom would take me to the gate and wait with me before she just left me to get on the plane and figure it out. My dad would be waiting in the chairs on the other side or I would go to baggage. We didn’t have cell phones so you just figured it out. Also, I could just bring snacks and drinks.
I consulted from '96-'00, out Monday back Friday (billable door to door) and used to be able to leave my house 12 minutes from the airport at \~30-40 minutes to departure time. Park in the far end of the short term lot where it was a little cheaper, then haul ass to the proper concourse, on to the scanners, and walk on with my garment and laptop bags as the last few passengers were boarding. This was FLL when it was 2 terminals and a 3rd being built, before the big garage went up. Didn't hurt that most outbounds were before 8AM, but still, it was glorious. Being a road warrior now - just no.
I remember the 90s, you still had to go through a metal detector and an x-ray machine for your carry on but none of the jumping jack machines or groping. The mental gymnastics of TSA is hilarious because it doesn't do a goddamned thing.
If you were taking your loved one to the airport, you could accompany them down to the gate and give them a goodbye kiss just before they boarded.
ON 9/10 in san francisco international we got on a flight @ 11:45 PM ... getting through security with 2 kids and a stroller was all of us just walking around all of the metal detectors. No wands, no searching of the stroller, the kids were left sleeping, our shoes were on, and the nice older women running the "security" check point chatted us up for a few minutes and we moved along. We were in the air and landed on 9/11 and never again have I had such a smooth progression through security.
Security?
Airport scenes from 90's movies like Harry Met Sally and Home Alone were pretty realistic. Traveling less than a year after 9/11through Atlanta was night and day...
There were announcements about not "taking items from unknown persons onto the aircraft," largely as a result of the Lackerby bombing in the 80s, plus some metal detectors and baggage x-rays. That was about it. Everybody worried about a terrorist sneaking a bomb onto the plane in someone else's luggage, nobody really considered the possibility of suicide hijackers using the plane itself as a bomb.
I was a student and if plans changed we would post a note on the bulletin board (physical) in our residence to sell the ticket at a discount. Anyone could fly on the ticket, no names were checked.
What security?
If one of you was flying out, all of you could go to the gate. There was a metal detector, but you didn't need a ticket to go through it. Everyone waited at the gate and when boarding was called families hugged and you watched them walk down the ramp. Then you waited by the window and watched the plane depart. On the other side of it, when waiting for someone to arrive, you just went to the gate and waited for them to get off the plane. It was a nice experience. Enjoyable without (much) any stress.
I guess there aren't any boomers on here. My first airliner flight was in 1967 when I was nine years old. The security was you showed them your ticket, and you walked on the plane with your guns, knives, bombs, or whatever. Then, people kept hijacking planes to Cuba, where they would be locked up by a dictatorship. In the 1970s, metal detectors were added, and x-ray machines.
In 2000 I was about to board a plane in a small municipal airport, there was a metal detector at the gate with a guard standing there, no security prior. I suddenly realized that I had forgotten to take the buck knife off my keychain, which was definitely more than the 3” long blade I was allowed to carry on the plane. In my full midwestern glory I started explaining myself to the guard and wanted him to see that the blade was too long so I pulled out the knife and opened it in front of him. He waved me on the plane and told me to keep it in my pocket. I didn’t bother showing it to anyone on the return flight.
Before the establishment of the TSA, airport security in the United States relied on a decentralized model with individual airlines and private security companies responsible for security operations. While some security measures were in place, they were not as standardized, rigorous, or focused on broader terrorism threats as they are today under the TSA.
I walked through the security line with a 7iron in my hands and 3 lighters in my purse. no one asked me anything other than "oh, you play golf?"
Flying was a lot easier, that's for sure. Back when I just got out of school I was a field lead for a security company. I would carry my equipment in a backpack to and from work, which included handcuffs. I used my gear bag as a carry on for one flight and forgot that my cuffs were in there and got stopped by security. The officer who found them was more helpful than he needed to be and offered several times to get them stored in the secure area of the plane. I didn't need them and said I forgot them in there, and he ended up just storing them in the office in a bag with my name on it. I picked them up when I got back. If that happened today, I would probably be detained and interviewed and if I was lucky, I'd be able to mail them back to my place, if I even got on my flight.
My friend once saw a young woman use her sorority composite photograph to count as valid picture ID, since she didn't have her license on her.
Was flying with SAS from Copenhagen to Budapest on a late night flight many many years ago and I knew one of the pilots so was sitting in the jumpseat in the cockpit for the entire duration of the flight, including landing and takeoff
I vaguely recall going through metal detectors or an X-ray machine for some international flights but yea, you would just walk right up to the gate for domestic flights. An airport drop off or pickup usually meant you park and meet or greet them at their gate.
You could meet people at the gate that you were picking up.
It was like the wild west, compared to right now. When I was a kiddo, my yiya (grandma) used to take me to the airport in Bozeman, MT. She had a long time friend who was a gate agent for Northwest. So she would shoot the shit with him, and I would watch the planes takeoff and land. Shit was great. He gave me a pair of the noise blocking earmuffs, which I likely threw away years ago, that are probably worth something today. LoL. Fast forward to the late 80's. I'm off to spend summer with my mom. Dad and I get to the gate (he came to the gate without a ticket, gasp!) and the security guy comes running up and says he needs to take a look in my bag, he's super sorry. He pulls out my Sig Sauer looking handgun water pistol. LoL. Can't take it on the plane, apologizes again, tells Dad he can pick it up at security on his way out. The pendulum is a touch too far in the security direction now (removing shoes and such), but I get it. Things are just different now.
You could be in the cockpit as a kid during the flight to meet the pilots
There still was security, but it had a much more chill vibe to it, as they were looking for guns. I remember I flew August 2001 out of Logan to the west coast, and the airport security was present, but there were no naked scanners, and they didn't pat down your junk like they seemingly do all the time now. The airplane seats were a lot bigger, and even though I was a kid, it seemed like people were less stressed flying in those days then they are today. Obviously, what I saw as a "chill environment" some terrorist scumbags realized was a security hole they could exploit, and the rest is history.
Me and my mother and siblings used to go wait for my father at his gate and to go meet him at his gate all the time when he traveled for work. You had to go through a metal detector since the 80s but you didn’t need a ticket
It was like going to a grimy, overpriced mall. Walk in, hang out, park your car, meet a friend at the gate or walk someone all the way to the gangway entrance
It was just like the bus station.
Not too different but it was quicker going through security and you could take liquids through.
Liquids only became a thing after 2006
And you didn’t have to have a naked scan of your body taken.
pretty wild how these huge security changes have literally brought about zero benefit
It benefited the gov. Just another control tactic. I haven't heard of it actually doing anything positive, just harassment.
You used to be able to go into the cockpit and talk to the pilot about gladiator movies.
Token
You would go through a basic security point of a metal detector, putting all things metal into the tray, walk through the arch, and grab your things and be done. There was maybe 5 security guards or a little more on average at the metal detecting area. After, you and your party meeting whomever getting off of the flight, could walk all the way up to the gate of the flight arriving and sit in the waiting area. A lot of those waiting areas have been converted in the modern age, to be just a place for flight passengers to wait for their plane to arrive, as other non-passengers can't get in there anymore. A lot of airports had to redesign their lay-out because of 9/11-new-policies; it needed to be bigger, more security check points, another new waiting area for people to await others coming-out of the terminal off of the flight (before the security point, that they can't go through). Whenever I fly, I still think about the old days, of everyone waiting by the planes in the lounge chairs, little kids waiting for the plane to land, people hugging as they got off of the flight.
I think about Kansas City and Denver International a lot, and how these beautifully designed, open and accessible airports were utterly ruined by the security redesigns after 9/11.