California lawmakers want to stop a service called CLEAR at airports. CLEAR lets people skip ahead in the security line if they pay for it. The service is getting attention from both Democrats and Republicans. The bill to ban CLEAR has support from both parties. But airlines don’t like this idea. They say if CLEAR goes away, ticket prices might go up. They also say there might be fewer flights.
CLEAR is a company that checks people’s identities. People pay $189 a year to use CLEAR. Then, they can go to the front of the line at airport security. This is different from TSA PreCheck, which is run by the government.
The bill in California, SB-1372, says CLEAR can only keep going if it has its own security lines. Airlines are not happy about this. They think it’s a big problem for CLEAR. Delta, United, Southwest, JetBlue, Alaska, and Hawaiian Airlines wrote a letter to the California Senate. They said if the bill passes, it could make them spend more money. They might have to charge more for tickets or offer fewer flights. CLEAR also pays $13 million a year to California’s airports.
Letting a private company help with airport security already has risks. But making CLEAR use its own security lines could be even riskier. In 2023, someone used a thrown-out boarding pass to get a CLEAR pass. They still had to go through TSA screening later. But this made Congress worried.
