| ‘Clear'
Security Service Opens to Travelers at Dulles Airport |
By Leslie Perales
Observer Staff Writer |
| A program to allow travelers to proceed through airport
security in less time debuted at Reagan National and Dulles
International airports on Wednesday. The Clear system uses
retinal and fingerprint imaging to verify customers' identities
and allows travelers to bypass the normal security lines at
airports. |
| Clear users go through a separate security lane at airports
where they must present their Clear card, boarding pass and
government identification. A Clear attendant then confirms
the customer's identity using a retinal or fingerprint scan,
and the customer continues through a metal detector with assistance
from Clear employees. The process, which is overseen by the
Transportation Security Administration, also includes an x-ray
screening of the customer's carry-on luggage. |
| Cindy Rosenthal, vice president of media relations for Clear,
said the program is about helping people avoid the regular
security lines. |
| "That gives you a certain amount of predictability in your
travel," she said. While sometimes there is not a long line
for security, other times the wait can last more than 30 minutes,
and Clear takes away that uncertainty, she said. |
| The program is aimed at business travelers and is also beneficial
for anyone who travels frequently, Rosenthal said. The annual
program fee is $100 and there is an additional $28 charge
from TSA. While the program is run through Clear, TSA completes
all of the necessary screening of the applicants. |
| So far about 3,500 people in the Washington, D.C., area
have signed up for the service and about 120,000 have signed
up nationwide, according to Rosenthal. She said the Clear
security lanes are similar to the E-ZPass lanes on area toll
roads where people in the fast lanes get to drive through
without stopping at a tollbooth. |
| "It allows for a greater portion of people to go through
the Clear lanes faster, with attendants helping them," Rosenthal
said. She said the addition of Clear lanes also decreases
the wait for customers in the regular security lanes because
about 30 percent of travelers are traveling for business.
|
| The Clear program also helps with risk management because
Clear members are prescreened, according to Rosenthal. "It's
a good way for the airport to devote less resources to those
people and more on people they don't know," she said. |
| The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board selected
Clear for Dulles and National airports at a January meeting
after a competitive bidding process. In a press release from
Clear, President and CEO of MWAA James E. Bennett said MWAA
works hard to identify ways to make passenger services run
as smooth as possible and they are pleased to work with Clear. |
| To enroll in the service, individuals start the registration
process online and then visit a Clear location to have TSA
complete the screening. Approved customers are then issued
a Clear card. Rosenthal said Clear often works with companies
who have employees that regularly travel to enroll them on
site. |
| There are four locations where area residents can enroll
in the program, including locations in the Dulles and Reagan
airports. There are also enrollment locations at American
Express Travel Services and the Congressional Federal Credit
Union in Washington, D.C. Rosenthal said another location
opened in the Pentagon Federal Credit Union on Thursday. |
| Children younger than 12 may accompany Clear-registered
parents through Clear lines, but any family members older
than 12 must be registered for their own Clear card. Including
Dulles and Reagan, Clear operates at 16 airports in the United
States and their next scheduled site to open is at the Oakland
International Airport in California. |
