Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal had an article on the “Clear” security system; the online article has a map of participating airports. If you pay for clearance, Clear lets you use lanes for airport security that have no other passengers in line (well, as long as no other Clear members are around).
Security is not improved with Clear, since few terrorists would fail the background check, but Clear certainly makes it easier to get through security. (See Clear’s Website for details on getting the pass.)
The current charge for a Clear pass is $128 for the initial year, and it seems to be a hundred dollars a year thereafter, although I’m not too clear on that.
I read this article thinking about our experience at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport last year. If you fly into the international terminal, you have to get your checked bags and go through customs, then you have to re-check your bags and to through security again even if you’re leaving the airport. This causes huge delays for passengers, and we were watching people with 90 minutes to get to their next flight as they realized they weren’t going to make it. A Clear line would have made the difference. Unfortunately, the Atlanta airport has refused to allow Clear at the airport, as officials there are worried “about the potential for irritating travelers who aren’t in the program.” The nations’ busiest airport is worried about irritating travelers? Then fix the international terminal.
4 months ago