Some airports are famous for their quirks. Singapore Changi lets you speed down an optional giant slide on your way to the gate. We tried it and it’s as fun as it sounds. While Houston Intercontinental hides a Disney-designed peoplemover underneath the terminals. Yes, really.
But on a recent trip, I encountered something I’d never seen before: an airport that keeps parts of its terminal—and the gates themselves—locked away until your plane is actually there.
In this case, we were flying from Aruba to the United States, and the airport there has a full US preclearance facility. That means you go through US Customs and Immigration before you even board your flight, and when you land in the US, you’re treated as if you’re arriving from a domestic flight. It’s a time-saver on arrival, but it also makes for some unusual rules when you’re departing.
This was our first time using a preclearance airport, and while I did a little research beforehand, I still wasn’t fully prepared for how things worked once we got to the gates.
Through Immigration… and Into the Gates
After finishing the US Immigration process, you enter what feels like any other US airport terminal — right down to the food options. Carvel. Sbarro. Nathan’s. Cinnabon. The familiarity is almost comforting.
Our Southwest flight to Orlando was set to leave from Gate 2. We decided to get settled first before checking out one of the airport lounges (more on that in another post). But as we made our way toward the gates, we ran into something unexpected.
Doors… That Don’t Open Until the Plane Arrives
Past Gate 4, we hit a bottleneck. A set of closed doors blocked the way, and a crowd had formed. At first, people thought it might be a line for the nearby restrooms, but word began to spread — these doors only open when there’s actually a plane parked in that section of the terminal.
No plane? No access.
So we waited. And waited. And waited some more — about 20 to 30 minutes — with no seating in sight for the two plane-loads worth of passengers gathered there. Finally, roughly 2 hours before our scheduled departure, the doors opened and people streamed through… unless you were on a flight from Gate 1 or Gate 2.
Another Set of Doors
Gates 1 and 2 had their own set of closed doors. An announcement told us to wait until closer to departure before they’d open. Even the Southwest gate agents — complete with portable boarding stanchions — were stuck waiting with us.
At least this part of the terminal was roomy, with plenty of open space. The only problem? The Priority Pass lounge in this area was behind those still-closed doors.
The Lounge You Can’t Get To (Yet)
By the time the doors finally opened at 1:30 p.m. (our flight was scheduled to leave at 2:40 p.m., with boarding at 2:00 p.m.), nearly all the passengers were already there. After all, you’re told to arrive early in Aruba to get through all the preclearance steps.
I dashed to check out the lounge — it was beautiful. No wonder it’s in such great shape… it’s not open to passengers much of the time.
In the end, headed back to the gate to wait for our flight to start boarding, which ended up being a little delayed anyway.
Final Thought
I understand the logic — keeping sections of the terminal closed when there are no flights there saves on staffing and other operational costs. But it still feels strange to be “locked out” of part of the airport until your plane arrives.
Have you been to any other airports that only open certain gates when a flight is scheduled? Does it make sense, or does it feel like an unnecessary hassle?
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1 comment
I’ve experienced this taking an international flight out of Honolulu. The arriving passengers had to pass through the gate area to get to customs, so the departing passengers weren’t allowed in until they were all clear and the area had been swept.