Pittsburgh airport offers ID-less security screening through membership

Passengers at Pittsburgh International Airport can now be cleared for departure a bit faster, thanks to a new, high-tech screening service.

Airport officials announced Monday a five-year agreement with CLEAR, whose biometric identification technology allows its members to proceed to the TSA checkpoint through a priority lane and without having to produce an ID.

CLEAR members pay $16 per month and must be 18 or older. Membership allows passengers to move to the front of the TSA screening line, through expedited identity verification.

Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis said the CLEAR service has been requested by passengers for some time. CLEAR already has over 10,000 members in the Pittsburgh area, among nearly 19 million members nationwide.

PIT airport becomes one of 56 airports in CLEAR’s national network. PIT will have four CLEAR kiosks located near the main security checkpoint.

Nine of Pittsburgh’s top 10 destinations also offer CLEAR.

When passengers fly out of an airport in the CLEAR network, they verify their identity at a CLEAR kiosk through their eyes or fingers. A CLEAR associate then escorts them to the front of the TSA screening line.

The system does not allow members to bypass TSA screening altogether, however. Those without TSA pre-check authorization must still remove their shoes and belt at PIT.

Discounts are available for CLEAR members that are newly enrolling active military, veterans and government officials, as well as passengers that are part of Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Express loyalty program members.