United tests gate pickup ordering at Newark Terminal C

United Airlines is testing a service that brings food, drinks and travel essentials to departure gates at Newark Liberty International Airport, according to The Points Guy. The trial gives eligible passengers a way to order ahead and collect their purchases from a designated shelf at the gate.

The aim is straightforward: make those items easier to obtain before departure. That is the goal described in a Sept. 8, 2026, report from Bizjournals. The operational details reported by The Points Guy describe a limited test, not an airportwide service.

Where United is testing gate delivery at Newark

The Points Guy identifies nine participating gates in Newark’s Terminal C, within the C125–C138 range. That distinction matters: the report specifies nine gates, so passengers should not read the range as confirmation that every gate between those numbers participates.

Orders go to a designated pickup shelf at the gate, according to The Points Guy. Customers place an order through the service, then collect it from that shelf. The collection point is part of the setup, not simply a restaurant counter elsewhere in the terminal.

For travelers, the useful change is where the purchase is collected. The service moves that step to the departure gate. Its reach, however, remains tied to the participating locations and the eligibility notification described in the report.

How eligible passengers place an order

According to The Points Guy, eligible customers receive either a predeparture push notification through the United app or an email containing a link to order. Those are the access methods identified in the reporting.

The notification matters more than simply being booked on United through Newark. The Points Guy describes access for eligible customers, not a service automatically available to everyone departing Terminal C. Passengers should look for the ordering invitation rather than assume their gate assignment alone establishes access.

The available reporting does not establish prices, delivery fees, order deadlines or the full eligibility criteria. Those limits prevent a firm assessment of either the cost or how close to departure a passenger can use the service.

Food, drinks and more than a meal

The selection reported by The Points Guy includes sandwiches, salads, drinks, kids’ meals, chips and candy. The service therefore covers both meals and smaller purchases, rather than a single food category.

Travel essentials are also part of the test. The Points Guy lists select over-the-counter medicine, travel pillows and charging cords among the items customers can order. That puts the trial beyond restaurant delivery, although the report describes a selection of products, not an unrestricted airport shopping service.

For now, the ordering invitation and designated pickup shelf are the concrete pieces travelers can act on. The test offers another way to obtain food and essentials at selected gates; it should not be treated as a standard United departure benefit.

A separate app plan for disrupted journeys

The gate-ordering trial is one of two passenger-service developments covered in The Points Guy’s report. The other is a planned United app function intended to make it easier for delayed customers to seek an earlier flight without giving up a confirmed alternative. The undated report describes that function as forthcoming, rather than establishing its availability as of Sept. 8, 2026.

As described, the function would allow delayed passengers who have been rebooked on a later flight to retain that confirmed seat while selecting up to three earlier United flights to the same destination for standby. United would monitor seat availability on those flights and send a text if a seat opened up.

Passengers could then choose whether to take the earlier flight or remain confirmed on the later one. The important distinction is between holding a confirmed seat and waiting for an earlier opening: selecting standby options would not itself mean a seat had become available. The notification would give the passenger a choice when one did.

A separate security pilot reported in Terminal C

In a separate, undated report on TSA e-gates, The Points Guy described automated gates as live in Newark’s Terminal C at the time of reporting. It tied their introduction to the start of a Labor Day travel rush, but the supplied report does not establish their operating status as of Sept. 8, 2026.

Under the setup described, passengers enter a booth and have their photo taken. The system compares the image with passport information already on file, allowing eligible travelers to pass through the initial identity-check stage without presenting an ID or boarding pass or speaking to an officer. Passengers and their bags are then screened as usual.

The eligibility rules described were specific to that security program. Newark access was limited to United flyers who had opted in to TSA PreCheck Touchless ID with the airline, while the report described the Charlotte e-gate pilot as available to all passengers registered for TSA PreCheck. The Newark security pilot and gate-ordering trial therefore had distinct access requirements in the reporting: Touchless ID enrollment for the former, and an ordering invitation for eligible customers for the latter.