I recently discovered this, and it was also new to my squadron, so I thought I would share it - although you cannot enter ground ports on foot, you can enter them with your SRV. Once you are in range of the port with your SRV, select the port from your contacts to "request to board". Once granted, you will be directed to drive into a small garage. From there, you can board your ship and either disembark in the port Hangar or launch from the landing pad.
