Security company CLEAR is partnering with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to launch new biometric “eGates” at select airports across the country, including Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, to ease bottlenecks at security checkpoints ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
The public-private partnership comes at no cost to taxpayers, CLEAR said in a news release on Tuesday.
The automated eGates — available to CLEAR+ members who opt in — are designed to conduct real-time biometric verification, matching a traveler’s facial image with their identity document and boarding pass.
Once identity is confirmed, a traveler passes the gate and proceeds to physical screening, bypassing the TSA podium.
“It’s fully integrated. It’s one step. And the total transaction time should be between three and six seconds,” CLEAR CEO Caryn Seidman-Becker told Axios.
CLEAR says that it transmits only limited data (live photo, boarding pass, ID photo used for enrollment and identity information), and that it has no access to watchlists, cannot override TSA gate decisions, and does not manually open gates.
The pilot program debuts Tuesday at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), next week at Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA), and the week of Aug. 31 at Sea-Tac Airport (SEA). CLEAR plans to expand eGate implementation across more than 30 airports in the next year, according to The Points Guy.
More than 20 million international visitors are expected to fly to the U.S. for the World Cup soccer tournament next year, and Seattle is hosting six matches.
Adoption of biometrics and facial recognition technology is becoming more commonplace in air travel. A handful of airlines at Sea-Tac offer customers the option of using TSA’s PreCheck Touchless ID.
CLEAR+ is a paid membership program that costs $209 per year.
Previously:
- Self-driving shuttle being tested at Seattle airport for trek between terminal and light rail station
- United joins other airlines in offering facial recognition as ID option at Seattle airport
