Clear brand smart cards get passengers through airport security faster.
An identification card program designed to speed up security checks at airports will be revived this year after shutting down last summer.
Clear, the program run by security company Verified Identity Pass, served 250,000 customers at 20 airports across the country between 2005 and 2009. Customers paid an annual membership fee to have biometric information encoded on a smart card to ensure airplane security while moving people through airports quickly.
According to a survey on the Unisys Security Index, 57 percent of Americans claimed they are willing to use biometric data for identity checks at airports. Mark Cohen, vice president of enterprise security at Unisys, said that this is because "the majority of people understand the implicit bargain in giving up their information."
About security issues, he added that "our impression is that there’s a reasonable degree of confidence that the information will be respected and protected."
Advances in technology like biometric identification cards are a sign that airports are leveraging technological advances in order to answer a public demand for better security. Denver International Airport has already accepted the new Clear biometric identification card, and the federal government recently gave Salt Lake City International Airport $4 million to bolster security.
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