CLEAR at Airports - Not So Secure

[NowISeetheLight]

I don't travel much anymore. I do have TSA Precheck though. I got it years ago when I lived in AZ and I do renew it when it comes up. It's nice to avoid the "practically strip" airport line.

I've seen the company CLEAR the last few years at the airport. It's kind of a civilian version of identity verification. I guess I wonder WHY when TSA precheck is already in place.

Now I see an article about people using CLEAR access to get by screening with tickets they found in the garbage, WTH? Why are we allowing a for-profit company to affect airport security?

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/07/transpo-clear-tsa-00110124

[Ms. Toad]

1. CLEAR passengers jump to the front of the line at CLE -

But they don't skip the ID scan by TSA, or the carry-on screening.

[we can do it]

17. TSA pre check was doing that way before Clear.

[Ms. Toad]

20. This is slightly different.

TSA pre checks get you your own shorter line (and special rules). CLEAR literally inserts you into the general line, in front of everyone else.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

2. Yeah I'm not sure I buy that

I used it ... on one trip, for a free trial, and then cancelled it cause I plan to get the real TSA one.

It most definitely doesn't grant you the ability to get past the person who scans your boarding pass ... it's just a way to jump the queue of the regular line that has formed BEFORE the person who checks your boarding pass.

It also doesn't get you out of having to take off your shoes and belt and put laptop in separate bin, etc.

You aren't going to be able to get around needing a real, valid boarding pass that matches the name on your ID.

It's a dumb waste of money in the end, it does way less than a TSA precheck and costs a lot more money. It's for lazy people who show up late and can't be arsed to do things the proper way.

Which ... is sometimes me

[brooklynite]

4. Not correct; CLEAR customers share the light security processing with PreCheck

No shoe or belt removal, no extracting laptops, etc.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

5. Not in PHX nor in OAK

Which was where I literally just used it a couple months ago.

So maybe the differences between the implementation in various airports are why I'm confused on the subject.

You still can't pull a random boarding pass out of the trash, sign up for CLEAR, and end up on a plane, pretty damn sure of that

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

16. Depends on tsa at the time

TSA Precheck let's you avoid the shoe/belt/laptop removal and body scanner. You just walk through a normal metal detector. But, it's entirely up to TSA, sometimes they shut precheck down and send everyone through the normal screening. Can be a random reason, could be a security concern/tip they are working on. I've been through dozens of domestic airports and occasionally it happens.

Still worth it to have precheck. Clear is only useful at major airports and when they are busy. Using clear to skip a long security line can be a god send.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

18. I was travelling with my GF who has TSA precheck

Both legs of the trip, using Clear, I got to jump to the beginning of the regular security line (i.e. walk up to the person who checks your BP and ID) but that was it. From there forward, I was just like anyone else. Hands above head scan, belts and shoes off, etc.

She went through special TSA screening, didn't have to do that stuff, and was through security in like 1 minute, whereas it took me 10.

And Clear costs WAY more. It seems like a very bad investment vs. just going down to a TSA appt and getting the real, official 'thing'.

[BannonsLiver]

22. NYC is the only place that matters, apparently.

Center of the universe.

[GP6971]

3. CLEAR is a rip off.

We recently flew out of Seattle. The security lines were long and they had people that looked like TSA personnel. Free trial for two weeks which covered our trip. What they didn't tell you (except in the very fine print) was that you had to opt out of membership before the two weeks were up...$189 per person was charged to our CC. And it automatically renews if you don't cancel it.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

7. Yeah, I did the same thing on my last PHX-OAK trip

And made sure to cancel it the moment I got home.

It's like $80 for five years thru TSA, and provides better benefits, at least at the airports I commonly use, and I suspect TSA benefits are NEVER worse anywhere.

[Think. Again.]

6. I always thought...

...that the whole TSA mega-security set-up is just heavy-handed theatrics put in place to calm the public after 9 11.

As much of a pain in the butt it is for so many people, there are certainly a lot of weak spots in the system, but the general public just assumes that if they have to get to the airport an hour earlier so they'll have time to show somebody their socks, it must be a good thing.

[A HERETIC I AM]

12. Absolutely.

It’s important to remember that Mohammed Atta and his compatriots did what they did using items that were perfectly legal to carry on a commercial flight.

The response was complete overkill and is, as you aptly point out, “heavy-handed theatrics”.

Why we don’t just develop the techniques used by Israeli security for El Al is beyond me.

[slightlv]

8. The whole thing has just made it so I can't travel anymore.

It's a real shame, because I always wanted to travel after I retired. I can't do long trips in the car. My fibromyalgia won't let me do that. But I have so much metal in my body, that I set off scanners going INTO buildings. I set off scanners everywhere I go. I have all the necessary ID cards showing what metal and where it is, but I'm just not into all the indignities I'd have to suffer as a sagging 67 year old woman. I guess I've heard too many horror stories. It's not that I've experienced any of them. I've just read and heard too many of them, and it's scared me too much to even try it anymore. I guess if there was a family or close friend emergency, I'd swallow my pride and take the chance, but I'd be scared to death the whole time; especially since I don't move so fast or easily anymore. I'm all but physically disabled. I'd do better in a wheelchair, but usually get around with a cane. Not so sure about an airport, tho. Being around a lot of people moving fast kinda scares me these days... I'm only 4'9, and fall easily. Didn't use to be this way. Once upon a time I used to LOVE flying. But that was before 9/11, the TSA, all the security theater, and the rise of all the mean people. Of course, back in those days, you used to dress up to board a plane! It was an experience! Real meals on the plane. Nice people to meet and talk to. Even then, tho, I had trouble hurrying to get from one terminal to the next in time, tho. At my tallest, I was only 4'11! My little legs would only go so fast! (LOL)

[Snooper9]

9. I don't know the last time you flew

But TSA workers are just like you and me.

They really aren't assholes. Just FYI

Past two years-
DFW, BWI, PHX, LAX, HNL & BOS

[slightlv]

10. The last time I flew was Sept 21,

2 years prior to 9/11. My anniversary. Funny thing, I had tickets to fly to Ft. Lauderdale in November right after 9/11. I wasn't scared to get on a plane to fly, either. But hubby, mom, sis, and the rest of the family all kept at me until I cancelled my trip. (sigh)

Like I wrote, I haven't experienced the TSA, myself, since all this happened AFTER I last flew. But the stories I read since the TSA came into being have stayed with me, the naked scanners, the singling out for strip downs, etc., the callous treatment of the disabled... even those with colostomies, etc., those stick with you... even if they're not everywhere, all the time. Yeah, I understand the TSA are people just like us. Somehow, that doesn't exactly make me feel great. I was a government worker, too. (gryn)... that means they're probably overworked, stressed out, and low on patience at any given point of the day or evening. Me, too... especially when I'm nervous and uncertain. Like I said, in an emergency, I'd probably suck it up; since I can't do a long trip in a car (and neither one of mine would make a long trip, anyway). And if I did fly again, it'd probably be with a friend who'd done it since 9/11 and knew what to expect so it wouldn't be such a new experience for me. I mean, flying today is like night and day from when I used to do it. So many rules and regulations from way back in the good old days... even to the minutiae of what you can bring on board. It's just a whole different world (sigh).

[Snooper9]

11. one or twenty bad stories are bound to happen...853 million passengers

numbers---

For the full year 2022, January through December, U.S. airlines carried 853 million passengers (unadjusted), up from 658 million in 2021 and 388 million in 2020. Annual: Systemwide enplanements (853 million) were down 8% from the all-time annual high (928M) reached in 2019.

[slightlv]

13. Funny thing...

Just had a notice about the The Parliament of the World’s Religions convening in Chicago next week. And, with all this talk of flying between the two of us, I actually went up on travelocity to see how much it would cost. Oh, well... the whole shebang put it out of my budget, BUT... it did give me a great idea... a weekend holiday in Chicago via Amtrak. I love the idea of traveling by train, especially with wifi available. And, at $92 round trip, much easier on my bank account (gryn). Thanks for the conversation, Snooper... you're ending my evening with a smile on my face!

[brooklynite]

19. Security has never taken me more than 5 minutes with PreCheck

[róisín_dubh]

14. Exactly.

I've flown upwards of 20 times in the last 4 years, and I've never once had a problem with TSA (but I have pre-check). I have had issues with Border Patrol in the past (extended trips to Latin America tend to raise flags), which is why I now have Global Entry and don't have to deal with them anymore. The Border Patrol tend to be nicer, from what I gather, to Global Entry folks because we have immigration entry down to a science, so we're easy to deal with for the 10 seconds they see us. And I say that as someone who exclusively flies back to the US via JFK or Newark.

[róisín_dubh]

15. I had a free trial to CLEAR.

Used it once, it seemed to work fine (skip the pre-check queue). But the second time, which fortunately was before the grace period ended, it was pointless. So I canceled. Pre-check and Global Entry are all I need, and pre-check is included in the Global Entry fee.

[mainer]

21. I've used both Global Entry (pre-check) and Clear

And the only advantage to Clear is that they escort you right to the front of the line. There's sometimes a line for pre-check, but with Clear, an employee walks you straight to the front. I did need to let them have my retinal scan on record, though.

I do find it uncomfortable to be escorted to the front, with everyone staring. I prefer to just wait in the pre-check line and not be so conspicuous.