Largest Registered Traveler Co. Ceases Operations
Verified Identity Pass, operator of the Clear Registered Traveler program, late last night said it discontinued operations due to a lack of funding and failed negotiations with its chief creditor.
The alert of the company's cessation of operations came in the form of a notice on its Web site that says, "Clear lanes are no longer available" as of 11 pm PST on June 22. "Verified Identity Pass Inc. has been unable to negotiate an agreement with its senior creditor to continue operations," the company noted on its Web site.
The company on its Web site said it would not offer refunds to members of the program.
Company founder Steven Brill, who left Verified Identity Pass as CEO earlier this year to pursue interests in journalism
(BTNonline, June 5), in a statement said, "Although I have had no role in the management of Clear since February, when the investors who led a round of financing in 2008 decided to take control of the company, I am deeply saddened for Clear's dedicated staff and loyal customers that the company has ceased operations. I can only speculate about the causes of the company's demise. What I do know for sure, however, is that the need for intelligent risk management hasn't diminished and that programs like Clear should have a role in our future, as we try to use common sense to balance security needs with freedom and the free flow of commerce."
A spokesperson for the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, which has hosted Clear lanes for several years, said the Registered Traveler lanes are being removed today from the airport as officials are reaching out to the roughly 5,200 local Clear cardholders to "make sure they're aware, so they get enough time to get through the normal security process."
Clear competitor Flo Corp. in a statement today said it is "working with other participants in the industry as well as the Transportation Security Administration to analyze the implications of this announcement and to formulate a plan for the advancement of the program moving forward. We have no additional comment at this time but would expect to release further information pending additional discussions with the TSA."
Verified Identity Pass was the leader in the Registered Traveler business, which gained interest among some travelers following Sept. 11 with the promise of expedited security screening at the airport for customers who undergo a background check. Verified Identity Pass operated the program at about 20 airports in the United States, far more than any of its competitors. However, its expansion largely dried up in the second half of last year, after growing the program at a pace of about one new airport a month for a few years.
The Registered Traveler companies in the past year has butted heads at times with the Transportation Security Administration, which oversaw the Registered Traveler program, but began to distance itself from it last summer.
Registered Traveler proponents earlier this month cheered the House passage of the Transportation Security Administration Authorization Act, claiming the bill would return benefits to a program that TSA has largely reduced to a front-of-the-line offering. However, the Senate has yet to introduce a counterpart bill, making the timeframe for a final law unclear
(BTNonline, March 5).