‘Why does every other airport look better than ours?’: Gee calls out SEA as TSA rolls out pre-9/11 gate access at select airports

For the first time in 25 years, people without a plane ticket will be able to walk to airport gates. TSA is allowing PreCheck members to apply online for a free gate-side pass, letting them walk a loved one to the gate, welcome somebody home, or meet a friend during a layover. The pass lasts all day, and visitors can leave and come back. While the program is starting at 13 airports, Seattle’s is not yet on the list.

KIRO host Gee Scott said the new program signals that airport security is about to get a lot faster, and he believes the days of removing belts and laptops are numbered.

“This signals to me that right now TSA is going to be coming up with faster ways to get through,” Gee said on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “It is 2026 today. I believe by 2030, with AI, they’re going to come up with ways that we’re going to be just going through.”

But Gee had something else on his mind. He flies constantly, visits airports across the country, and wants to know why The Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) looks the way it does.

“Why does every other airport in the city look better than ours?” Gee said. “Minneapolis, there’s a good one. Dallas-Fort Worth, that’s a good one. All of these airports look better than SEA, and we’re the technology place in the country. How is that happening?”

Gee predicts the end of old-school security

Gee said he recently tried TSA’s new touchless PreCheck process and was struck by the speed. Between that, standard PreCheck, and CLEAR, he sees a future where the security lines people have endured since 9/11 are gone entirely.

“We’ll be telling Nick, ‘Back in our day, we used to have to take our belts off and take our shoes off,'” Gee said. “All of those things. I think we’re going to be having faster ways of going through.”

KIRO producer Andrew Lanier agreed the technology is coming, but joked about the trade-off.

“You got to have like the Mark of the Beast, right?” Andrew said. “No, just a palm print gets you through everything.”

“It’s coming,” Gee said.

Gate access means more money for airport restaurants

Gee pointed out that allowing non-travelers past security has a built-in business upside. More foot traffic at the gates means more customers for airport restaurants and shops.

“These restaurants inside of there are going to get more money,” Gee said. “And by the way, you restaurants, you know what this also means: since you get more money, they’re going to charge you more to lease that spot.”

SEA says goodbye to Spot Saver

Meanwhile, SEA is ending its free Spot Saver program on Nov. 30. The program launched in 2021, letting travelers reserve a place in the security line.

SEA spokesperson Perry Cooper said the system is no longer needed because checkpoint lines have gotten shorter.

Gee gave SEA credit where it’s due.

“Yes, your baggage claim has gotten better. Yes, your checkpoint has gotten faster. You do a great job with that,” he said. “I just want to talk about aesthetics.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.