PHL's Wingmate Pass allows non-passengers to accompany travelers at departure and arrival gates

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The PHL Wingmate Pass program, which allows non-travelers to go past Philadelphia International Airport security checkpoints to be with family and friends before they depart, has been around since the end of the last year. Airport officials say they want to see more people participating.

Each day, PHL makes 100 Wingmate Passes available for the public, but the airport’s director of marketing and branding, Megan O’Connell, says only a fraction of them are claimed.

“We usually get somewhere between 20 and 50 passes a day at this point in time,” she said.

Getting a Wingmate Pass is a simple procedure, and it’s free. Let’s say you want to accompany a relative to the gate and wait with them until their plane arrives — or you’re picking someone up, and you want to meet them right when they get off the plane. About a week ahead of time, you sign up on the airport’s website , indicating the time frame you expect to be at the airport.

If you’re approved, you’ll get an email confirmation and the digital pass.

“You’ll go in through either A-East or D/E checkpoint, you’ll be screened as if you were a traveler,” said O’Connell.

“You come in the time frame you selected, with your ID — and obviously … no prohibited items just like if you’re flying — and you’ll be able to access the airport.”

It’s a throwback to the time — before 9/11 — when non-passengers were allowed to accompany travelers all the way to the departure gate to say their good-byes right before boarding. It has been around for eight months now and O’Connell says it has made a mark among those who have used it.

“Being able to meet friends or family arriving on domestic inbound flights, or if somebody has travel anxiety, or if their child may be flying for the first time.”

The Wingmate Pass is not available for people meeting travelers who arrive on international flights, because they have to go through U.S. Customs.

However, O’Connell said, the pass is available to people who just want to check out any of the airport shops or restaurants.

She says the program is here to stay and they can increase the number of available passes per day if necessary, and TSA would be able to handle the volume.