Commuting vs. positioning
Disclaimer: I'm just an interested SLF, planning to get a PPL some time.
I think what a lot of people here are missing is that Magplug wasn't referring to commuters, he was referring to pilots who are based, e.g. in London but expected to show up for work one week in Rhodes, the next week in Lanzarote, another week in Nuremberg, etc.
If you choose to live far from your base, your commute is your own problem. If your employer offers you to travel his network for free, good for you.
However, if your employer wants you to show up for work at a distant airport, all the regs should apply, the employer should probably pay for a place to stay there and the usual duty time regs should apply for the trip there.
I heard that there are some US airlines that do indeed expect a pilot living and based in Seattle to show up for work in Miami, fly a plane to New York, then maybe another sector to Dallas, leave work and return home. The time between Miami and Dallas is paid and counts towards duty time, the rest is "commute".
Regarding the procedures for getting airside, I think that should be as hassle-free as possible for the pilots. I don't know how it's handled, but as a PPL holder in Germany, you had to get a security background check. After the check, you get a security ID that allows you to get airside with fairly little hassle.
I wonder what would happen if a pilot wants to go on vacation, buys a ticket, checks in normally, however doesn't want to deal with the queue in front of the passenger security and uses his ID for just go airside and board the plane.