CLEAR and TSA Roll Out High-Tech eGates at Checkpoints

Clear and TSA are piloting biometric eGates at three airports to allow travelers with CLEAR+ subscriptions to skip directly to baggage screening, reducing friction and time-wasting at security checkpoints.

One eGate opened on Tuesday at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL). The pilot program will also bring eGates to Reagan National (DCA) next week and Seattle-Tacoma (SEA) the week of August 31.

Photo: Courtesy of CLEAR

Clear hopes to bring the program to at least 30 airports nationwide before next summer, in advance of an anticipated surge of travelers for the 2026 World Cup and America’s 250th birthday.

“With more than 20 million international visitors expected to fly to the U.S. for the tournament — and domestic travel surging through U.S. host cities — checkpoint infrastructure will face unprecedented pressure,” a spokesperson for Clear said.

Here’s how the eGates work

To use the new eGates, travelers must have a subscription to CLEAR+, the company’s premium expedited security program, currently priced at $209 per person per year.

Members scan their boarding passes at the eGate, which performs a real-time biometric verification, matching their face to their preloaded ID and boarding pass.

Previously, Clear staff had to escort vetted passengers to the TSA podium—a choke point in a process advertised as seamless.

The eGates allow travelers to bypass this podium, where staff manually examine boarding passes and IDs, and where long lines form during busy times.

If travelers pass the biometric checks, the eGates open, giving them direct access to TSA’s screening area, for examination of their bags and persons.

“It’s fully integrated. It’s one step. And the total transaction time should be between three and six seconds,” Clear CEO Caryn Seidman-Becker told Axios. She added that the gates free up Clear employees to assist other passengers.

TSA retains full operational control over the eGates, including triggering access to the gates and enforcing government security requirements. Clear says it cannot manually open the gates, override TSA decisions, and doesn’t have access to “no-fly” watchlists.

Photo: Courtesy of CLEAR

The gates transmit only limited data about travelers, including a live photo, the ID they used when booking the flight, and their boarding pass.

CLEAR and TSA staff will still be on hand to assist travelers with the gates, should they run into snags.

“The program works in cooperation with TSA’s system to create a seamless and secure checkpoint experience,” a CLEAR spokesperson said.

The company is also funding the service at no cost to TSA or taxpayers. “This is a major leap forward in modernizing and streamlining airport checkpoints, at zero cost to taxpayers,” a spokesperson said.

Clear Opens Up to Foreign Travelers

For now, the eGates serve as a shortcut to luggage screening. However, eventually they will be capable of fully vetting passengers with biometrics, allowing them to skip the general TSA checkpoint entirely.

CLEAR, line at TSA security checkpoint at Reagan National Airport / Photo: David Tran Photo/Shutterstock

Clear also told investors this month that it will soon begin accepting members from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, allowing them to use the eGates when traveling in the U.S.

“This is frictionless travel. This is more secure. This is making airports great again, ahead of the World Cup,” Seidman-Becker said.