CLEAR Airport Kiosk – Update on TSA and Idemia

By | August 22, 2023
CLEAR Airport Kiosks

CLEAR Airport Kiosk News

We recently did a writeup on some news from Biometric Update:

The battle for TSA and airports seems to have taken a new turn.  Just when we were settling into fast and speedy airline check-in thanks to IRIS biometrics, one of the players is “complicating” the situation.

A recent post on Biometric Update (thanks Michael!) came up and notes Idemia is lobbying to make ID checks mandatory for CLEAR’s members. That would be an inconvenience for CLEAR members for sure who pay $189 a year for first up.  We also noted on the same day a news story on CBS News and CLEAR. It focused on a couple of employee errors.

We asked CLEAR. Here are our notes summarized by Bard.


Refer to the Washington Post’s story from the other week reporting that the TSA is not pursuing CBS’s claims.

  • CLEAR takes security very seriously and has a zero-tolerance policy for security breaches.
  • The two security incidents that were mentioned were isolated incidents that did not involve the CLEAR biometric system. They were the result of an ambassador not following the company’s strict protocols. CLEAR took immediate action by terminating the responsible employees, their managers, and retraining all ambassadors at the affected locations.
  • CLEAR has been working with the TSA since 2020 to integrate CLEAR members’ IDs into TSA’s CAT machines. This would allow passengers to skip the ID check at the airport. CLEAR is looking forward to rolling this out in the future to create a more seamless and secure traveler experience.

.We also asked about CLEAR’s “additional locations/venues” and here is our take:

  • Hotels – CLEAR offers travelers a hotel check-in experience at the Hard Rock Las Vegas. Take a selfie and the head straight to your hotel room without stopping at the front desk. It’s free for all customers at participating hotels.

  • Airports – currently the network is 53 airports nationwide and expanding.

  • Rental Cars – CLEAR partners with Avis to help travelers easily verify their driver’s license ahead of time. 54 eligible Avis airport locations nationwide. This functionality was first tested by Hertz back in 2018.

  • Sports/Entertainment Venues – CLEAR has deployed a series of integrations to enhance the fan experience at sports and entertainment venues across the country. Specifically, CLEAR’s age verification product, which is currently available at select arenas, allows fans to verify their age and purchase age-gated items, like beer —all with just a selfie within the team or stadium’s app.

  • Healthcare – CLEAR is developing the ‘replace the clipboard’ in healthcare by partnering with various health systems, including Wellstar Health System in Georgia and the University of Miami Health System in Florida, to empower consumers to securely access and control their health information, beginning with account management and check-in.

  • LinkedIn – CLEAR is partnering with LinkedIn to expand digital safety and trust by empowering LinkedIn members in the U.S. and Canada to verify their identity with CLEAR for free. 

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Author: Staff Writer

Craig Keefner is the editor and author for Kiosk Association and kiosk industry. With over 30 years in the industry and experience in large and small kiosk solutions, Craig is widely considered to be an expert in the field. Major kiosk projects for him include Verizon Bill Pay kiosk and hundreds of others.