Fast lanes are in 18 airports and adding more

Verified Identity Pass’s Registered Traveler program, which goes by the brand name Clear, last week marked the third anniversary of its start-up airport – Orlando – with a progress report that indicates the service may finally be starting to take off. The company said it has now signed on more than 190,000 travelers nationwide – including 100,000 in the past year -- and that new participants are enrolling at an average rate of 500 to 1,000 a day. More than 40,000 of its members are in Orlando, where Clear launched in 2005 – and of those longer-term members, 90 percent are still in the program, the company said. Clear’s fast security clearance lanes are now operating in 18 U.S. airports, with Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson coming on line this summer. Last week, Clear lanes opened in Delta’s Terminal D at New York LaGuardia and its Terminal 2 at New York JFK. “Clear lanes will continue expanding across the country this summer and throughout the fall at major airports,” a spokesman said. Clear has encouraged participation by setting up enrollment centers at more than 75 office buildings in the past three years, as well as at airports. Membership costs $100 a year, plus a $28 fee to cover the Transportation Security Administration’s background check. Members get a biometric ID that gives them access to special security clearance lanes at participating airports.