For twenty-five years, the airport security checkpoint has stood as a hard border between the traveler and those who love them — a boundary born of tragedy and maintained by caution. Now, the TSA is quietly redrawing that line. Through a new program called Gateside by TSA PreCheck, vetted travelers at thirteen U.S. airports may once again walk someone to the gate, linger through a layover, or simply be present for the moments that matter — a modest but meaningful restoration of the human texture that air travel once held.