AIRSIDE

noun (Lifestyle and Leisure) The part of an airport which is beyond passport controls and so is only meant to be open to the travelling public and to bona fide airport and airline staff. Etymology: Formed by compounding: the side of the airport giving access to the air (as opposed to the landside, the public area of the airport). History and Usage: The word airside has been in use in the technical vocabulary of civil aviation since at least the fifties, but only really came to public notice during the late eighties, especially after the bombing, over Lockerbie in Scotland, of a Pan-Am passenger jet after it left London's Heathrow airport in December 1988. As a result of this and other terrorist attacks on air travel, a great deal of concern was expressed about the ease with which a person could gain access to airside and plant a device, and several attempts were made by investigative reporters to breach security in this way. Tighter security arrangements were put in place. The word airside is used with or without an article, and can also be used attributively in airside pass etc. or adverbially (to go airside etc.). Far too many unvetted people have access to aircraft...No one should get an 'airside' pass without...clearance. The Times 27 June 1985, p. 12 For several hours the terminal-building was plunged into chaos. 'Airside' was sealed off by armed police. Daily Telegraph 18 Apr. 1986, p. 36