Posted on Monday, 12.22.08
BUSINESS TRAVEL
Problems persist at security checkpoints
Privately issued biometric IDs aren't all you need, and heaven forbid that you show up on crutches.
BY JOE SHARKEY
NEW YORK TIMES SERVICE

SAN FRANCISCO -- ''You can't go through with those,'' the security officer at the checkpoint told a man in front of me who had a foot in a cast and was hobbling on metal crutches. The man was clutching his boarding pass while gripping a crutch.

The man looked at the agent and then at his wife, who was already on the other side of the magnetometer. He tried handing a crutch to the agent, who would not take it.

Instead, his wife had to come back through the magnetometer and carry her husband's crutches through. This was evidently acceptable because the woman herself had already cleared the metal detector. Then the husband, wobbling on one foot, was required to hop through the metal detector.

I was going to say something, but in my mind I heard that grating voice from the announcement that keeps playing at some airports, warning that ``jokes or inappropriate remarks concerning security can result in your arrest.''

CLEAR-LY A PROBLEM

And with Guantanamo still open for business, I kept my mouth shut. But that did not stop me from thinking that the man hopscotching through the checkpoint represented the second ridiculous situation I had seen in a mere two minutes near the United Airlines gates in Terminal 3 at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday.

The first came at the Clear registered traveler booth. Almost a year ago, I paid $99.99 and had my fingerprints and irises scanned for a Clear biometric identity card providing access to the expedited security lanes that Clear operates at 19 airports.

The idea is that the biometric card is proof positive of one's identity and that the required background check shows that the holder is not suspected of being a terrorist.

This was actually the first time I had used my Clear card. I presented the plastic card at the Clear booth and pressed my left thumb on the scanner, which gave me the green light. Then the Clear employee said she would need to see a photo ID.

''But your machine just green-lighted my thumbprint,'' I said. ``That's my biometric ID.''

''We have to follow TSA rules,'' the woman told me. She was referring to the Transportation Security Administration, which has not been wildly enthusiastic about private-sector registered traveler programs like Clear.

The agency insists that program members be subject to the same photo identification requirement as every other passenger.

Clear says it is reissuing its cards with the member's photo on them, meaning the card will then meet the low-tech photo ID requirement.

I have not received mine yet, but I did get a cheery notice last week from Clear, which is operated by Verified Identity Pass Inc., Steven Brill's company, informing me that my membership was to be automatically renewed at $159, a membership discount from the new regular price of $199.

I called and said no thanks. I will stick with my driver's license.

By the way, I should stipulate here that the checkpoint experience has been greatly improved in recent years. While some of the rules remain strange, the screening agents are generally courteous and professional, and the lines for the most part move efficiently.

For this, credit must go to the agency's director, Kip Hawley, who is leaving when the new administration arrives in Washington.

`THREAT LIQUIDS'

I recently spoke with Hawley, who did say that one of the most denounced security measures -- the prohibition against carrying through liquids except those in 3-ounce containers that can fit into one quart-size baggie -- would probably be dropped once new technology is in place.

There will be machines at checkpoints, he said, that will ''have the capacity to differentiate threat liquids from nonthreat liquids'' in any size container. Getting this system set up should take about a year, he said.