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Comment by LeonB | Hacker News Reader

In Australia, at most domestic airports, you can enter the secure area without a boarding pass. For example, as I saw on the last domestic flight I caught, you can give a teary farewell right before they board.

Also, in Australia at most domestic airports and for most airlines they don’t check ID when checking in or when boarding.

I found this odd and happened to be talking to a friend a few days later who is a travel agent, has been one for 20+ years, and knows a lot about systems here and in other countries. He said that very few domestic terminals in other countries allow a person into the secure area without a boarding pass. (It used to be fairly common.)

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> you can enter the secure area without a boarding pass

I never understood why this isn't the case everywhere. You can always just buy a cheap ticket (Ryanair sells seats for as little as €15) and not board. The barrier to entry is so low that I can't imagine it accomplishes much from a security point of view.

When you book a US flight ticket there’s a $5 fee for the hassle of getting you through airport security. If you allowed anyone to get into the secure area you would have to charge people that fee to make it back.

Although some US airports do some version of this where you go to a desk on the insecure side of the airport and you register your ID and then you can get through security without a boarding pass so you can go to the shops and spend money there and pay for expensive airport parking. Probably a good opportunity for planespotters

Yeah, the whole airport security fee thing is a bit of a pain, but it's all about maintaining security measures. The option to get through security without a boarding pass is pretty niche but cool for those who want to access the airport amenities or do some planespotting. On the topic of airport parking, it's notoriously expensive, but there are ways to save a bit. Sites like parkingaccess can help you find better deals than the standard airport rates. It's always surprising how much you can save with a little research. Most people seem to agree that looking for alternative parking options is the way to go to avoid those steep airport parking fees.

It's mainly intended to reduce the screening burden at the TSA checkpoints.

Not just TSA but other security entities across the world

Sounds quite similar to domestic flights in New Zealand.

I was passing through NZ a few months ago and noticed this, wound up chatting to a security guy about this. They’re apparently (slowly) trying to change this?

I think the regional NZ airports are incredibly charming. Most cities probably have much bigger bus terminals.

It used to be well known in the USA before they changed security that if you knew the airlines and flight patterns you could fly for free, by just getting on non full flights.

How? Wouldn’t they check your ticket at the gate?

Of the plane wasn’t full, they’d often not care, or they’d be lax about it. The “fumble in my pockets with people behind me until they just wave you on” kind of thing.

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