For most people, going to an airport is not an enjoyable experience. You have to wait in multiple queues. You’re stuck in crowds. And, of course, the prices to buy anything are ridiculous.
One of the most patience-testing parts of going to an airport is the TSA security checkpoint. If you don’t travel often, navigating through the TSA checkpoint can be quite challenging, especially with the multiple programs available to help you get through them faster. It can be overwhelming to distinguish the differences between each program and their respective advantages that can assist you in avoiding any hurdles or delays at the checkpoints.
Both Clear and TSA Precheck are designed to help passengers move through the security checkpoint process more quickly and efficiently.
- Clear is a biometric-based identity verification system that allows you to skip the ID check and move directly to the screening process.
- TSA Precheck, on the other hand, is a program that allows expedited screening for eligible passengers, who don’t have to remove their shoes, belts, or light jackets, or take out their laptops or liquids from their carry-on bags.
Both programs can be used independently of each other, or in combination, to speed up the checkpoint process further and reduce wait times. However, using Clear doesn’t always mean you’ll get through the line faster.
If you don’t want to pay for these programs, you can use the “skip the line” or reservation systems, that are in place at several airports, to avoid the line for the TSA checkpoint.
I saw another option when I was stuck in the Clear line at Atlanta Airport. A Delta representative was taking people from the TSA PreCheck line to a separate checkpoint line if they were enrolled in the Delta Digital ID program.
The option wasn’t available to me since I was flying on Southwest that afternoon. I did some looking into what a Delta Digital ID was, but it wasn’t helpful since it was only at Detroit and Atlanta airports. However, Delta is expanding the Digital ID program to several other of its hubs, so it might make sense to sign up if you are a Delta flyer.
Passengers in the Delta Digital ID line don’t need to show ID or a boarding pass at the checkpoint. Instead, the system uses facial biometric technology to confirm a passenger’s identity.
Besides ATL and DTW, which have used the technology since 2021, Delta has added the Digital ID program to hubs in Los Angeles (LAX) and New York (JFK and LaGuardia Airports). Delta is planning to expand the program to more hub airports in 2024.
There are several requirements to get a Delta Digital ID. A customer must:
- Be a TSA PreCheck® member
- Have passport information and a Known Traveler Number stored in their Delta profile
- Be a SkyMiles member
- Have the Fly Delta app
- At the airport, Delta Digital ID customers can navigate to a bag drop station and/or security line designated with the green “Digital ID” icon.
- The customer will look into the camera at bag drop and/or the security checkpoint to use their digital identity in place of a physical ID.
- Once a customer reaches a camera at the airport, their image is encrypted, stripped of biographic information and sent to U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) facial biometric matching service via a secure channel. CBP then verifies a customer’s identity against the CBP image gallery and sends back an indicator to allow the customer to proceed.
I hadn’t signed up for the Delta Digital ID because it was only in Atlanta and Detroit. Now that it’s available at both JFK and LGA, I’m going to make sure Sharon and I are registered before our next Delta flights.
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.