This October, travelers at Logan International Airport will be able to speed through security lines if they pay an annual fee.
Travelers wishing to bypass crowds at Logan’s Terminal A can pay $128 per year to become a member of Verified Identity Pass Inc.’s Clear Program. Interested fliers must apply online and go through an enrollment process at the Clear station in the airport. At the airport, applicants must show two forms of identification and will have their fingerprints and iris images captured for an ID card that will be encoded with this information.
“When travelers come to the airport, they bypass the regular security line and enter Clear’s lane, where they insert their Clear card into a machine to verify their fingerprint or iris image,” Clear spokeswoman Cindy Rosenthal said. “This verification allows members to have fast passage through security in less than five minutes.”
Rosenthal said the Clear Program will not impede Logan security procedures.
“One of Clear’s best security assurance is that a customer’s information is not kept in one location – fingerprints and iris images are kept separate from a member’s identity.”
The Clear Program started in the United States in 2005 and is currently in 21 cities across the naion, including Albany, Denver, Los Angeles and Orlando.
“Clear had to consult with the Transportation Security Administration and get the approval of Logan before putting its kiosk at a security checkpoint,” TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis said.
Though Clear members can pass through the regular security lane, Davis said members are not given benefits that allow them to bypass normal security measures.
“They still have to show their IDs and boarding passes and scan carryon bags just like other passengers,” Davis said.
As a frequent flier, former American Airlines flight attendant Judy Connors said she would take advantage of the Clear Program, and she does not worry about the security of Clear’s program because Logan would not let any company into its airport without properly checking its credentials, she said.
“Boston especially is very efficient with security,” said Connors. “The security lines do get very long and for people who want to get in and out of the airport quickly, this will be helpful,” she said.
Clear Program would not be beneficial to occasional fliers,
Boston University College of Arts and Sciences junior Alex Was said.
“It’s a lot of money to pay if I’m only flying a few times a year,” the Illinois native said. “The lines at Logan aren’t that long to make paying hundreds of dollars worth it.”
CAS sophomore Diana Zuskov said students will probably not pay for a Clear membership.
“This is good for workers who travel a lot, but I don’t think students will want to spend money on it,” she said.