Exclusive: CLEAR, TSA to test biometric "eGates" at major airports
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CLEAR is rolling out eGates at three U.S. airports this month. Photo: Courtesy of CLEAR
CLEAR and the TSA are piloting biometric "eGates" at three major U.S. airports ahead of a nationwide rollout, the identity verification company told Axios exclusively.
Why it matters: U.S. airports are bracing for record-breaking crowds in 2026 with the World Cup and America's 250th birthday.
- This includes millions of international visitors expected for the global sporting event, which will put historic pressure on security checkpoints.
Driving the news: The pilot begins Tuesday at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL), next week at Reagan National (DCA) and the week of Aug. 31 at Seattle-Tacoma (SEA).
- CLEAR is funding the rollout at no cost to taxpayers, the company said.
- Only CLEAR+ members can use the opt-in eGates program, the company told Axios.
What they're saying: "This is frictionless travel. This is more secure," CLEAR CEO Caryn Seidman-Becker told Axios. "This is making airports great again, ahead of the World Cup."
- "It's fully integrated. It's one step. And the total transaction time should be between three and six seconds," Seidman-Becker said, noting it frees up CLEAR employees "to bring other services to travelers."
How it works: Travelers step into an eGate that conducts real-time biometric verification, matching a traveler's face to their ID and boarding pass.
- TSA keeps full operational control of the eGate, from triggering gate access to vetting security, CLEAR said.
- Once cleared, passengers move directly to screening and bypass the TSA podium.
- CLEAR+ is an opt-in service that typically costs $209 a year and expedites the identity verification process at the checkpoint using biometrics.
Between the lines: The rollout underscores TSA's growing comfort with biometric identity verification, once controversial but now increasingly mainstream.
- CLEAR says it has no access to watchlists, cannot override TSA gate decisions and does not manually open the gates.
- The company said it transmits only limited data like the live photo, boarding pass and the ID photo used for enrollment.
What's next: "Our expectation is to roll this out nationwide and so that by the time the World Cup comes around next summer our airports are competing and leading with the airports around the world," Seidman-Becker said of the eGates.
