special perks for special people! of course it only costs $75 for the perks Original Article Sky Harbor: Let 'safe' fliers skip lines Various airports back eye, fingertip scans Ginger D. Richardson The Arizona Republic Aug. 20, 2005 12:00 AM Passengers willing to forgo a little privacy and undergo a stringent federal background check could avoid long security lines at more than two dozen airports across the country under a new program being pushed by Sky Harbor International Airport. The service, which likely will take more than a year to put in place, is being touted as a way to speed low-risk passengers through checkpoints and make the security screening process more efficient for everyone. "These types of programs make our haystack smaller," said Nico Melendez, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration. "It also makes it easier for us to find the needle." Sky Harbor's new initiative is similar to an effort started last year by the security agency at five U.S. airports. But unlike the federal government's program, which has been made available to only 10,000 specially selected frequent fliers on individual airlines, Phoenix's service would be open to anyone who wanted to participate regardless of the airline. Last month, Sky Harbor was one of seven airports that formed a new partnership in conjunction with the American Association of Airport Executives in hopes of expanding the security agency's pilot project to a much grander scale. The group, which calls itself the Registered Traveler Interoperability Consortium, wants to establish common rules for the new service so that approved passengers would receive the same treatment at all participating locations. The security agency's pilot program has been criticized because it has been slow to expand and passengers can bypass lines at their home airport only on designated airlines. "The goal is really to make it seamless between airports," Phoenix Aviation Director David Krietor said. "I think, at the end of the day, you'll see all the major airports participating." Already, at least 29 more airports, including Boston Logan, Lambert St. Louis, Philadelphia International, and Seattle-Tacoma, have joined the new group. Original members include airports in Dallas, San Francisco, Denver and Washington, D.C. All are eager to implement the new service, which would give passengers a great perk: the ability to avoid standing in lines that, at Sky Harbor, routinely take longer than 20 minutes. The new service would not allow registered passengers to bypass security checkpoints completely. But approved passengers would be exempt from random secondary screenings, such as wanding and pat-downs, unless they first set off the alarms. Krietor said Sky Harbor and its airport partners plan to use private security companies to manage their programs, with the idea that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security would still have oversight over the whole process. That means the federal security agency and U.S. government would have sole control over whether an individual application was approved. One such program already exists in Orlando, where officials say the service they've dubbed "CLEAR" appears to be popular. More than 7,000 people have filled out applications since the program's launch in late June, said Carolyn Fennel, a spokeswoman for Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. Interest has been so great, in fact, that the Transportation Security Administration has capped Orlando participants at 30,000. Like all the Registered Traveler initiatives, Orlando's program uses biometric technology to identify fliers. Passengers agree to be fingerprinted and submit themselves to an iris scan. They are then issued a microchip that they take with them to the airport. The information on the card is verified with an on-site thumbprint or eye scan each time they fly. That way, a passenger could not use someone else's stolen or borrowed card to speed through checkpoints. In Phoenix, airport officials believe that the program will be most popular with business travelers, who find themselves flying every week, or at least a couple of times a month. Because all the programs would likely require annual membership fees of $75 or more, large families or those who travel only once or twice a year might not feel the cost is worth the benefit. But Rich Campbell, a local business traveler who fits the program's target demographic, said he'd be more than willing to shell out the cash. "Given the amount of time I spend in line, I'd have to say that I would absolutely be in favor it," said Campbell, who lives in the East Valley and flies out of Sky Harbor several times a month. "The sooner they could get that up and running, the better," he said. Sky Harbor's Aviation Advisory Board agreed this week to seek proposals from private security firms interested in running the airport's program. However, the plan first must be approved by the City Council, a vote not expected until sometime in September. Assuming there are no snags in the process, the service could be available by next fall, officials said. For more information, go to www.rtconsortium.org. Reach the reporter at (602) 444-2474.