>>2058931>I'm old enough to have been in a US Airport with no metal detectorsIt was neat. And you boarded planes via stair cars back then, no jetways. They boarded at the front and back doors as a result.
But for about 20 years before 9/11, metal detectors were pretty much the norm at every mid-size to large airport, so the only real differences between then and now was you could take departures to and meet arrivals at the gate and you could take toiletries in your carry-on without worrying about sizes of liquid containers. I remember several times taking visitors to the airport, going through security with them, and eating a meal at a restaurant near the gate until their flight got called for boarding, and bidding them adieu.
Also, as others have pointed out, the cockpit door was open all the time on flights.
