CLEAR Foggy On Security Procedures

Posted onAuthorChris Owen

CLEAR is a company that allows airline passengers to pay to be whisked through airport security checkpoints. However, the company is under increasing scrutiny from lawmakers following two previously unreported security incidents. In one incident, a passenger was able to go through security using a boarding pass they’d fished out of the trash. In another incident, a person who did not have a ticket was able to use a discarded boarding pass to enter security through the CLEAR lane.

Transparency Note: We are members of CLEAR and pay for the service which we find quite helpful in airports that offer it. We are not paid by CLEAR or receive any value from CLEAR other than zipping through security fast. Frankly, I think this was a fluke. Ok, two flukes but flukes and not standard operating procedure.

Lawmakers are calling for changes in the way TSA handles CLEAR passengers, including requiring all CLEAR passengers to present their IDs to a TSA agent. CLEAR has fired the employees responsible for the lapses and their managers, along with requiring all employees to be retrained on CLEAR’s verification process. However, it remains to be seen whether these measures will be enough to satisfy lawmakers and the public.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

  1. CLEAR is a company that allows airline passengers to pay to be whisked through airport security checkpoints.
  2. The company is under increasing scrutiny from lawmakers following two previously unreported security incidents.
  3. In one incident, a passenger was able to go through security using a boarding pass they’d fished out of the trash.
  4. In another incident, a person who did not have a ticket was able to use a discarded boarding pass to enter security through the CLEAR lane.
  5. Lawmakers are calling for changes in the way TSA handles CLEAR passengers, including requiring all CLEAR passengers to present their IDs to a TSA agent.
  6. CLEAR has fired the employees responsible for the lapses and their managers, along with requiring all employees to be retrained on CLEAR’s verification process.
  7. It remains to be seen whether these measures will be enough to satisfy lawmakers and the public.