Registered Traveler lanes open at Denver International Airport this morning, allowing those who pay a fee to go through a separate, potentially faster security line.
To kick off the program, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper will use a card at DIA to verify his identity for Registered Traveler, a federal Transportation Security Administration program that allows private companies to register approved passengers to go through a separate security line.
Verified Identity Pass Inc. is one of the companies that can register passengers and was selected to operate its Clear program at DIA.
Verified Identity Pass charges a $128 annual fee for the Clear card. Clear cards can be used at 14 airports in the United States.
In Denver on Tuesday, Verified Identity Pass chief executive Steven Brill said, “I’ve been at this airport when it’s taken me a minute to go through security, and when it’s taken me a half-hour.”
Brill said he hopes to branch out to other venues that could use the Clear card for security checks, such as sports venues.
Through a partnership with Frontier Airlines, Frontier’s elite Summit members will get a year of free Clear membership to use the Registered Traveler lanes. Other Frontier EarlyReturns frequent fliers will get 13 months of membership for the price of a year.
“We’re trying to make the whole check-in and security process as quick as we can for our EarlyReturns members,” Frontier spokesman Joe Hodas said.
The Registered Traveler program has caused some to raise privacy concerns with its registering of biometric data, including fingerprints and iris images. And the Transportation Security Administration has been slow to grant leniency to the Registered Traveler program on such matters as removing shoes.
Meanwhile, the Registered Traveler program competes with free security lines for elite frequent fliers at some airports, including DIA.
Passengers can register for Clear cards at the Hyatt Regency Tech Center and Grand Hyatt in downtown Denver, or at DIA.
Verified Identity Pass competitor FLO Corp. is also signing up travelers with mobile enrollment stations on corporate campuses for $100 Registered Traveler cards that can be used in the Clear lanes at DIA.
Kelly Yamanouchi: 303-954-1488 or kyamanouchi@denverpost.com
Participating airports
• Denver
• Albany, N.Y.
• Cincinnati
• Indianapolis
• Jacksonville, Fla.
• Little Rock, Ark.
• Kennedy (New York)
• LaGuardia (New York)
• Newark, N.J.
• Orlando, Fla.
• Reno, Nev.
• San Francisco
• San Jose, Calif.
• Westchester, N.Y.
Coming in March
• Oakland, Calif.
• Reagan National (Washington)
• Dulles (Washington)
