Verified gets the okay for Clear

NEW YORK--Verified Identity Pass, one of three major players in the Transportation Security Administration's Registered Traveler program, announced Nov. 27 that is has had its Clear program approved as a Registered Traveler Service Provider. Clear is the first such program to receive approval for national roll-out and is currently in place at the Orlando airport. With this in place, Verified will install Clear lanes at New York's JFK airport, along with airports in San Jose, Indianapolis and Cincinnati, by the beginning of 2007. Working in tandem with GE Security and Lockheed Martin, among others, Verified has developed a system that will allow travelers who pay for an initial $99 membership to travel through exclusive security lanes at participating airports that will not require travelers, for example, to remove shoes or jackets. Verified chief executive officer Steven Brill in a statement called the TSA approval an "important milestone," as "some airports planning to initiate Registered Traveler had been waiting for the official designation of one or more service providers before proceeding." He now expects to be in "12 to 20" airports within the next 12 months. Other Registered Traveler participants include the FLO Alliance, led by Saflink, and a group led by Unisys.