CLEAR and TSA are piloting biometric “eGates” at three major U.S. airports shortly ahead of a nationwide rollout, according to Axios. 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 states it is funding the rollout at no cost to taxpayers, and only CLEAR+ members can use the opt-in eGates service. This comes as airports are preparing for a rush of international visitors during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Members who have signed up for the CLEAR+ program will be able to use the CLEAR lanes at select security checkpoints at the airport. The gates use biometric software that matches travelers’ faces to their ID and boarding pass. Once the traveler’s identity is confirmed, passengers will be able to skip interactions at the TSA podium and directly go to the physical screening.
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The company says that the TSA will still have control of the system and the CLEAR gates transmit only the live photo, boarding pass, and ID photo used for enrollment and identity information. The system will not manually open the gates without TSA triggering access.
More than 20 million international visitors are expected to arrive in the U.S. for the tournament.
“We are proud to help make America’s airports great ahead of the World Cup. The U.S. should be leading on security, hospitality, and the travel experience,” said CLEAR CEO Caryn Seidman Becker. “This partnership with TSA is a powerful example of how public and private sectors can work together to enhance security and improve the aviation ecosystem. CLEAR is investing in this technology at no cost to taxpayers to modernize our checkpoints and ensure America’s airports are ready to meet global expectations. CLEAR’s secure identity platform will help unlock a better, safer, and more frictionless experience for all travelers.”
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Meanwhile, TSA Acting Deputy Administrator Adam Stahl said, “TSA’s public-private partnership with CLEAR on eGates is just one example of how we are working with stakeholders both inside and outside of government to improve hospitality and security for the American traveler. eGates accomplish several objectives toward achieving Secretary Noem’s goal to enhance TSA security and hospitality. This includes creating a seamless, less invasive traveler experience and shorter wait times at TSA security checkpoints. We look forward to rolling out additional eGate systems as we work to implement President Trump’s vision for a new Golden Age of American Travel.”
This rollout indicates TSA’s increasing comfort when it comes to biometric verification–once controversial, but now a lot more common. CLEAR says it has no access to watchlists, cannot override TSA gate decisions and does not manually open the gates. It also says it transmits only limited data like the live photo, boarding pass and the ID photo used for enrollment.
“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 added about the eGates.