A few services now exist in different countries to give frequent travellers an easier time getting through security and customs. However, the execution of these services still leaves a lot to be desired. I have recently attempted to join some of these programs and have experienced several problems which I am sharing here.
INSPASS
One of the first large-scale biometric customs and immigration facilitation services was the US Imigration and Naturalization Service Passenger Accelerated Service System (INSPASS). The service operated from 1996 to 2002 in several airports and land crossings in the United States. Frequent international travelers with US citizenship were able to enroll by visiting enrollment areas in airports. After providing adequate documentation including a passport, the traveler was photographed and had the geometry of their hand scanned. After a security background check, the traveler would receive an INSPASS card. Upon arriving in the US, the INSPASS user would go to a specific lane in immigrations and enter their card and have their hand geometry re-scanned in an INSPASS kiosk. If the system was able to match the user to the information carried on the card, the user was granted access to the United States through a metal gate that would swing open.
INSPASS was modeled on the successful, yet smaller implementation of biometric border crossing facilitation created by the Dutch at Schipol Airport. INSPASS, however, was deemed a failure as less than 100,000 people were able to join the system. At it's heart, the system relied on a single centralized database that all of the kiosks would have to connect to in order to verify a user's identity. Several technical problems arose with the kiosks that caused them to be unable to contact the database at times, rendering them unusable. These problems and the tightening of US border security post-September 11th doomed the INSPASS service. The US now is working with Canadian borders to develop the NEXUS system which facilitates travel between the US and Canada for low-risk citizens of either country.
IRIS
Taking a page from the US, and hoping to do better, the UK Home Office has developed the IRIS system for facilitating entry into the UK. Instead of relying on hand geometry as the basis for biometric identification, the system uses the increasingly popular iris scanning method. Enrollment is open to anyone who has clearance to stay in the UK for 6 months or more. Supposedly, enrollment takes place in offices in each terminal at London Heathrow and Gatwick airports and requires a document check and the user must look into a mirror to have their iris photo taken. Upon entry into the UK, a special lane in immigrations contains a booth where the user can look into the camera and be granted entry.
Of course, there is no way for me to actually know whether this is the case as I have been unable to enroll for Iris during my last three attempts. It is only possible to enroll when leaving the UK in the international departures terminals. Every single time that I have attempted to go to the inconveniently located enrollment offices, there is a sign or an angry civil servant announcing that the system is down due to a "technical fault". There is no way to check ahead of time whether the office is open.
I have only seen one person use the Iris entry point at customs. I carefully asked a border inspector whether he had seen a big uptake in the use of the Iris booth. He laughed and said that even if people were signed up to use it, it was usually broken. I suspect that the problems experienced by INSPASS of having a central database is causing IRIS to flounder as well.
CLEAR
Although there is definitely a benefit to a frequent traveler to get through the customs and immigration process as expeditiously as possible, the process of getting through security before boarding a flight can also be subject to long delays as slower passengers realize that they aren't supposed to have their keys and coins in their pockets when going through a metal detector. Thanks to Richard Reid and his cohorts, the amount of extra steps in security include things like removing your belt and shoes while holding a plastic bag with whatever liquids you have decided are necessary to have with you at all times.
Steven Brill has started Verified ID, a company that has taken advantage of the TSA's Registered Traveller Program to create it's Clear service. For $100 a year, a Clear member is given a card that contains information about the traveler on a chip. Similar to IRIS, the user enrolls at an office (located in airports and in major cities) and has their photograph taken along with fingerprints and an iris scan. A background check is performed by the TSA and a card is issued that can be used at the Clear security lanes in several US airports.
I enrolled with Clear and waited a very long time to finally receive my card. I was very excited to use it, as the long security lanes tend to drive me insane. It was with my new Clear Card that I traveled to California on business. After arriving at the California office, where I was to stay for two weeks, I received an email from Clear stating that, due to an error, the encrypted photo on my card was not actually of me, but instead of SOMEONE ELSE. The actual text of the email is below:
I immediately wrote back telling them to NOT cancel my card as I wanted to use it to return home to London. After receiving no response, I sent another email begging them not to cancel the card until I got home and could collect my new card. With still no response, I called Clear and spoke to an operator who, after checking my details in the system, confirmed that my card would still work on my return journey.
Imagine my surprise when I went to the Clear Lane and was told that my card was invalid and that I would have to stand in the long security line. A further phone call to the company resulted in a deeper investigation where it became known that my card had, in fact, been deactivated. I was offered a laughable 1 extra month of Clear service. Upon return to London, I did not receive my replacement card for another week.
Most of my travel to the US is out of New York and San Francisco, both of which are served by Clear. However there are times that I expect to be flying out of Boston (and other airports). Obviously it would benefit me if Clear was available in these airports. I contacted, through the website, Boston's Logan Airport to see if they would be instituting Clear Lanes any time soon. Their response is below:
So, apparently Massport thinks they are doing just fine. Good for them.
It is no secret that international travel is becoming more laborious with delays and extremely long wait times for customs and security. It is nice to see that there are efforts underway to improve these situations, but the current offers from IRIS and Clear still have a ways to go before delivering on their respective promises.
INSPASS
One of the first large-scale biometric customs and immigration facilitation services was the US Imigration and Naturalization Service Passenger Accelerated Service System (INSPASS). The service operated from 1996 to 2002 in several airports and land crossings in the United States. Frequent international travelers with US citizenship were able to enroll by visiting enrollment areas in airports. After providing adequate documentation including a passport, the traveler was photographed and had the geometry of their hand scanned. After a security background check, the traveler would receive an INSPASS card. Upon arriving in the US, the INSPASS user would go to a specific lane in immigrations and enter their card and have their hand geometry re-scanned in an INSPASS kiosk. If the system was able to match the user to the information carried on the card, the user was granted access to the United States through a metal gate that would swing open.
INSPASS was modeled on the successful, yet smaller implementation of biometric border crossing facilitation created by the Dutch at Schipol Airport. INSPASS, however, was deemed a failure as less than 100,000 people were able to join the system. At it's heart, the system relied on a single centralized database that all of the kiosks would have to connect to in order to verify a user's identity. Several technical problems arose with the kiosks that caused them to be unable to contact the database at times, rendering them unusable. These problems and the tightening of US border security post-September 11th doomed the INSPASS service. The US now is working with Canadian borders to develop the NEXUS system which facilitates travel between the US and Canada for low-risk citizens of either country.
IRIS
Taking a page from the US, and hoping to do better, the UK Home Office has developed the IRIS system for facilitating entry into the UK. Instead of relying on hand geometry as the basis for biometric identification, the system uses the increasingly popular iris scanning method. Enrollment is open to anyone who has clearance to stay in the UK for 6 months or more. Supposedly, enrollment takes place in offices in each terminal at London Heathrow and Gatwick airports and requires a document check and the user must look into a mirror to have their iris photo taken. Upon entry into the UK, a special lane in immigrations contains a booth where the user can look into the camera and be granted entry.
Of course, there is no way for me to actually know whether this is the case as I have been unable to enroll for Iris during my last three attempts. It is only possible to enroll when leaving the UK in the international departures terminals. Every single time that I have attempted to go to the inconveniently located enrollment offices, there is a sign or an angry civil servant announcing that the system is down due to a "technical fault". There is no way to check ahead of time whether the office is open.
I have only seen one person use the Iris entry point at customs. I carefully asked a border inspector whether he had seen a big uptake in the use of the Iris booth. He laughed and said that even if people were signed up to use it, it was usually broken. I suspect that the problems experienced by INSPASS of having a central database is causing IRIS to flounder as well.
CLEAR
Although there is definitely a benefit to a frequent traveler to get through the customs and immigration process as expeditiously as possible, the process of getting through security before boarding a flight can also be subject to long delays as slower passengers realize that they aren't supposed to have their keys and coins in their pockets when going through a metal detector. Thanks to Richard Reid and his cohorts, the amount of extra steps in security include things like removing your belt and shoes while holding a plastic bag with whatever liquids you have decided are necessary to have with you at all times.
Steven Brill has started Verified ID, a company that has taken advantage of the TSA's Registered Traveller Program to create it's Clear service. For $100 a year, a Clear member is given a card that contains information about the traveler on a chip. Similar to IRIS, the user enrolls at an office (located in airports and in major cities) and has their photograph taken along with fingerprints and an iris scan. A background check is performed by the TSA and a card is issued that can be used at the Clear security lanes in several US airports.
I enrolled with Clear and waited a very long time to finally receive my card. I was very excited to use it, as the long security lanes tend to drive me insane. It was with my new Clear Card that I traveled to California on business. After arriving at the California office, where I was to stay for two weeks, I received an email from Clear stating that, due to an error, the encrypted photo on my card was not actually of me, but instead of SOMEONE ELSE. The actual text of the email is below:
I am writing to inform you of a problem we recently discovered and to explain the steps we are taking to correct it.
Simply put, although there has been absolutely no breach in the security of your data, the encrypted digital image of your photograph that is stored in code (i.e. encrypted) on the chip on your Clear card is incorrect.
We discovered the incorrect photographs earlier this week and immediately took steps to identify the source and issue corrected cards. The problem affects fewer than 250 members whose cards were issued recently. And the photograph itself has no current practical use in our lanes. (It can be used to print a digital image of you identical to the photograph we took when you enrolled. In the past we have used it to print out receipts with your image on it when you passed through our lanes, but we don’t currently use it to do so.)
We submitted your enrollment data, including your photograph, correctly to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) via their designated clearinghouse run by American Association of Airport Executives. However, because of a mistake at the clearinghouse, the data returned to us after TSA completed your security threat assessment contained the incorrect photo.
The American Association of Airport Executives has apologized and assures us that the problem at the clearinghouse has been corrected. Even so, we are investigating audit processes that will allow us to detect future errors and prevent them from reaching our members.
While we take all such errors seriously, your data was always encrypted- within TSA’s secure environment, the clearinghouse’s secure data storage facility, and our own equally-secure storage facility.
The clearinghouse has now provided us with the corrected, encrypted data for your photograph, and we are issuing you a new Clear card. Your current Clear card will continue to work temporarily, and you may continue using the registered traveler lanes anywhere in the country.
Please begin using your new card as soon as it arrives. Your old card will be deactivated two weeks after your new card is issued.
Again, please know that all information on your Clear card is encrypted. The photograph, and all other data on your card, can only be accessed by a certified registered traveler kiosk such as those used in the Clear lanes.
We apologize for the inconvenience caused by this error. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me directly at (212) 332-6383
Sincerely,
Mary Ellen Kayden
Director, Member Services
Clear
I immediately wrote back telling them to NOT cancel my card as I wanted to use it to return home to London. After receiving no response, I sent another email begging them not to cancel the card until I got home and could collect my new card. With still no response, I called Clear and spoke to an operator who, after checking my details in the system, confirmed that my card would still work on my return journey.
Imagine my surprise when I went to the Clear Lane and was told that my card was invalid and that I would have to stand in the long security line. A further phone call to the company resulted in a deeper investigation where it became known that my card had, in fact, been deactivated. I was offered a laughable 1 extra month of Clear service. Upon return to London, I did not receive my replacement card for another week.
Most of my travel to the US is out of New York and San Francisco, both of which are served by Clear. However there are times that I expect to be flying out of Boston (and other airports). Obviously it would benefit me if Clear was available in these airports. I contacted, through the website, Boston's Logan Airport to see if they would be instituting Clear Lanes any time soon. Their response is below:
Thank you for your interest in the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) proposed Registered Traveler program. However, since security checkpoint wait times at Boston Logan International Airport average less than most major airports across the country even during some of the busiest times, Massport has decided not to participate in the program at this time. Should circumstances change we may reconsider this decision.
The concept behind the Registered Traveler program is a good one. As previously envisioned by TSA, it would accelerate the screening process for passengers who voluntarily choose to enroll. Yet, given the wait times at Logan, Massport questions the benefits of the program for our customers at this time since registered travelers would still be required by the TSA to pass through metal detectors, have their carry-on and checked luggage screened, and be subject to secondary screening if they trigger an alarm. Travelers would also pay a fee for joining, in the expectation they will avoid excessive waits at checkpoints.
At Boston Logan International Airport we always strive to combine world-class security with world-class customer service. Thank you again for your interest in Boston Logan International Airport. For more information on the airport or other Massport facilities, please visit our website at www.massport.com.
Sincerely
Jack Hemphill
Massport
So, apparently Massport thinks they are doing just fine. Good for them.
It is no secret that international travel is becoming more laborious with delays and extremely long wait times for customs and security. It is nice to see that there are efforts underway to improve these situations, but the current offers from IRIS and Clear still have a ways to go before delivering on their respective promises.
