Posted on: Saturday, June 4, 2005
$80 card can whisk you through security
By Brian Bergstein
Associated Press
Since the federal government began letting select frequent fliers with new high-tech passes speed through airport security checkpoints, one of the biggest complaints has been that the year-old program is too limited to be of much use.
Associated Press library photo • Nov. 24, 2004 Beginning June 21, the Orlando airport will let travelers pay $80 a year for a card that guarantees an exclusive security line and the promise of no random secondary pat-down. To get this new "Clear" card, travelers would have to be vetted by the Department of Homeland Security and submit to fingerprint and iris scans.
Similar systems exist at some European airports, and in five U.S. airports as part of a test by the Transportation Security Administration.
But the TSA's "Registered Traveler" program, which is free during its test phase, has been capped at 10,000 participants, and cards obtained at one airport don't work at others.
Brill founded the company behind the Clear is Verified Identity Pass Inc. in 2003 in hopes of creating a nationwide voluntary system that would give pre-screened people a dedicated fast lane for entering secure areas — at not only airports but also office buildings, power plants and stadiums.
Brill, the founder of Court TV and American Lawyer magazine, argues that while more rigorous security checks are needed in post-Sept. 11 America, it doesn't make sense for everyone to have to go through them.
Brill said he is in talks with about 20 other airports to buy the technology. He hopes to have 3.3 million members across the nation within six years, with annual memberships likely costing $100.
That kind of participation is well beyond the scope of the TSA's Registered Traveler tests, which have been limited to certain airlines' passengers in Boston, Los Angeles, Houston, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Washington-Reagan.
A separate, older program, known as INSPASS, lets frequent international travelers whisk through some U.S. Customs checkpoints with the use of hand-shaped biometrics.
Not everyone, however, is ready for trusted-traveler programs to take off.
Chris Bidwell, who oversees security for the airline representative Air Transport Association says it remains to be seen whether Registered Traveler does much to enhance security, especially because many airports' lines aren't that long anyway.
Privacy watchdogs have questioned how flyers' personal data will be handled, although Brill pledges that Clear will obtain minimal information on its members and store almost none.
Other observers worry that fast lanes will be tempting to terrorists whose records are clean enough to earn them a "trusted" label.
"As soon as you make an easy path and a hard path through a security system, you invite the bad guys to try to take the easy path," said Bruce Schneier, author of "Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly about Security in an Uncertain World."
Now, a privately run version coming online in Florida could spur efforts to broaden the program — and boost media entrepreneur Steven Brill's vision of installing such a system across the nation at airports and other security-sensitive locations.
Security checks in a post-9/11 era have meant more hassles for travelers passing through airports like O'Hare. A new $80 "Clear" card going online June 21 in Orlando, Fla., will let those cleared by the Department of Homeland Security go through an exclusive line.
