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Sacramento Intl. Begins Offering Biometric Security Scans

Sacramento International Airport is among a few in California to offer contactless scans for fliers willing to pay a monthly membership fee to bypass the TSA’s initial security checkpoints.

TSA Checkpoint at airport
Shutterstock
(TNS) — Sacramento International Airport announced Thursday it has become the fourth California airport to allow passengers to skip the initial part of the federal security checkpoint by stepping instead over to a touchless security "pod" that scans the flier's eyes or fingers to verify the person's identity.

The system, designed to speed throughput at the Transportation Security Administration checkpoints, is only available to people willing to pay a $15 monthly membership fee to the system's private vendor, Clear, a technology company that has a concession agreement with 37 airports nationally and is approved by the TSA.
 
Other passengers will continue to check in first with the TSA agent who verifies a person's identity and checks to see the person has a boarding pass for a flight. Clear vice president Mitch Nadler said travelers who join the private identification system will walk up to a "pod" that photographs the person's eyes or fingers to identify them. Travelers on Delta and United can then pass immediately to the TSA X-ray area. Passengers on other airlines must also scan their boarding pass at the pod before moving on.
 
The system is also in place at San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles international airports, Nadler said. His company pays a rental fee to the airport to be allowed to operate the system in Sacramento. The company's frictionless identification system also is in use at some stadiums and arenas.
 
Members can enroll ahead of time at the company's website, clearme.com, or in person at the airport. Clear, in a statement Thursday, said it does not sell member information.
The airport also has a COVID-19 testing area. Passenger numbers are increasing again after a major slump during the heart of the pandemic.
 
Sacramento airport director Cindy Nichol called the system a customer amenity. "Clear's technology brings speed and safety to Sacramento International Airport at a time when innovation is needed most to best serve our customers," Nichol said, "bringing touchless travel to our airport passengers and elevating their experience."
 
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