The secret passageway requires a bit of a walk (about a quarter-mile), part of it outside. But it avoids the long line-ups and circus atmosphere at the security checkpoint before catching the tram to the C gates.
The sign to the alternative checkpoint is near the curb at the departure drop-off point at Southwest. If you're ticketless and need to pick up a boarding pass, you can get dropped off at the Southwest entrance (at the very end of the drop-off curb), duck inside, and use the kiosks, which are very efficient and fast.
Head back outside, turn right, and look for the sign that reads "Southwest Airlines Gates 1-27." Walk that way.
You’ll pass directly under the tram tracks and come to the ground floor of the C Terminal, where there’s a mini security checkpoint. It usually takes one minute flat to get through. Then you take an escalator up to the gates. You come out at Gate 23, which is at the near end of the building, so you’ll have another long walk if your plane leaves from Gate 1 or thereabouts.
Still, it’s well worth avoiding the hassle of the main security checkpoint for Terminal C and might be a flight-saver if you’re running late.
