Reasons to visit San Diego Airport without a flight

How it works: Apply online for a free pass the same day or up to seven days in advance.

• If approved by TSA, visitors get their digital pass via email and take it through the general security screening along with their REAL ID. You can't use it in TSA PreCheck or Clear lines.
• The program is limited to 60 visitors per day.

What you're saying: Moriah N. suggests people who have travel anxiety use it as a sort of exposure therapy. "Go through all the steps of getting on a flight before you have to, but instead of actually getting on a plane, go home after. Repeat," she said.

• Amy Z. said it's a "great option to accompany kids or elderly parents/grandparents who may have a hard time navigating the airport by themselves."

• Yes, but: "In any other circumstance, no, I would not use this perk," she said.

💭 My thought bubble: My first reaction was "no way," but some Axios colleagues and I came up with a few ideas:

• Take your plane-obsessed kid on a field trip.
• Squeeze out every minute of a visit with long-distance friends.
• Create your own romantic "Love Actually" moment.
• Deliver the freshest-possible California burrito from Taco Stand to your loved one the moment they step off the plane.