The Transportation Security Administration has announced it moving towards requiring all passengers — including those utilizing the CLEAR program, a private service designed to expedite travelers’ passage through airport security checkpoints — to stop and present their identification to TSA officers. This eventual requirement will be phased in over time, according the agency.
Much like the TSA’s PreCheck initiative, CLEAR offers travelers a service with the goal of expediting the pre-flight screening procedure, minimizing the time spent in line prior to boarding by eliminating the need for TSA to scan their identification cards due to its biometric technology to verify passengers’ identities and expedite their entry into security screening. Travelers enrolled in the program must still remove their coats and shoes when going through security.
TSA’s facial recognition technology is being presented as a more secure alternative to CLEAR, with the agency rapidly expanding its use across the country. The system compares a traveler’s appearance to their photo on a valid ID while confirming their possession of a legitimate boarding pass. The technology will be available at 28 airports by the end of the year.
Despite the changes, CLEAR users—often paying up to $189 annually for the service—will still retain some advantages, such as expedited access to the front of security lines.
However, passengers remain divided over the new ID verification requirement.
“I mean the whole reason for CLEAR is to kind of easily breeze through, so it’s just another added step, I might as well go through a regular check,” said Jamie Phillips, a CLEAR user.
The move comes in response to recent security breaches where individuals — including one traveling with ammunition— managed to navigate TSA checkpoints without proper identification.
Despite these incidents, none resulted in unauthorized individuals gaining access to airplanes.
John Pistole, a former TSA administrator who works as a security consultant for American Airlines, said that the gravity of the security breaches is enough to “sound the alarm.”
“As we know, it only takes one bad actor to bring down a plane if they are a committed terrorist. So that is the concern,” Pistole said.
CLEAR has acknowledged the breaches and taken action, stating that “two CLEAR employees violated our strict protocols… Security is job one at CLEAR.” The involved employees were terminated, and additional staff received retraining.
The security breaches have gotten the attention of Congress, with Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson saying any system that gives less than 100% accuracy needs to be evaluated.
“I think we have to look at any system that gives us less than a hundred percent accuracy,” Thompson said.
