Dallas

Passengers Can Pay Extra to Jump Ahead of TSA Lines

No one likes to wait in long airport security lines, and now some passengers are paying extra money to save time.

"Any time we can get people through quicker, that's going to make everything flow a little bit better," said Dallas Love Field spokesman Chris Perry.

Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport are among two dozen U.S. airports that now offer a TSA-approved system called CLEAR.

Passengers pay $179 a year to become a CLEAR member, which allows them to go directly to a kiosk at the front of the lines when entering TSA security.

"It's more predictable coming to the airport, meaning I don't have to worry about how long the line is. I just zip right through here," said Bob DeMarco, of Irving.

CLEAR uses fingerprints and eye scans to identify passengers who have paid to jump ahead of the lines.

"If that's another option for one person to get through, that's one person in general boarding that's going to be able to get through a little quicker," Perry said.

CLEAR says it has 1.5 million members, and many of them also have TSA Pre-Check.

"If you have CLEAR and TSA, you don't have to take your liquids out, you don't have to take your shoes off, and you get to the front of the TSA line," said Connie Hampton, of Houston, who travels about three times each week and uses both programs.

Together, CLEAR and TSA Pre-Check cost $196 for each year.

Signing up for CLEAR takes less than five minutes, according to the company, and passengers can do it at the airport right before a flight.

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