CLEAR Wins Approval for Biometric Lanes at Tampa Airport

Tampa International Airport is preparing to add CLEAR+ lanes and facial-recognition eGates at each of its four airside security checkpoints after the airport’s governing board approved a contract with CLEAR.

The service is expected to launch this fall. Members entering a dedicated CLEAR+ lane will pass through an automated gate that compares a live facial image with identity and boarding-pass information. Tampa International Airport says the identity check takes less than five seconds, after which the traveler proceeds to physical security screening.

The deployment will place the CLEAR equipment at Airsides A, C, E and F. It gives passengers an additional identity-verification route alongside the airport’s existing checkpoint processes, while keeping the Transportation Security Administration responsible for the physical screening that follows.

CLEAR has been expanding the eGate model across its aviation network. The company recently introduced eGates and TSA PreCheck enrollment at Oakland International Airport, where facial matching is also used before travelers enter the security-screening process.

At Miami International Airport, CLEAR added biometric eGates to three checkpoints as part of a broader effort to increase throughput. Tampa’s contract extends that approach across every airside terminal rather than limiting it to selected checkpoints.

Tampa Airport CEO Michael Stephens said passengers had repeatedly requested the service and described it as another option for moving through security more efficiently. CLEAR Executive Vice President for Aviation Kyle McLaughlin framed the agreement as a way to make the checkpoint journey more predictable in a fast-growing travel market.

The airport says CLEAR now has more than 43 million members and operates CLEAR+ at 62 airports. Tampa will become another site where the company combines a paid expedited-access program with automated facial identity checks at the checkpoint entrance. The arrangement also gives CLEAR a presence at one of Florida’s busiest gateways.

The board approval establishes the commercial and operational basis for the rollout, but the airport did not provide a more specific launch date or publish membership pricing in its announcement. Travelers who do not use CLEAR+ will continue to use the airport’s other screening lanes.

Sources: Tampa International Airport

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By the ID Tech Editorial Team