Are there ways to reduce airport wait times during the shutdown? Yes, but nothing is guaranteed

By Jeanne Bonner, CNN

(CNN) — Standing in a long line at the airport isn’t always the worst thing. For many travelers, it’s standing in a long line at the airport and watching while other passengers sail past.

That’s because travelers enrolled in TSA PreCheck or a service called Clear can reduce the amount of time they have to wait in lines at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints by bypassing standard screening lines for separate, often quicker vetting procedures.

And air travelers without expedited access are increasingly becoming frustrated by this moving-to-the-front scenario as short-staffed security checkpoints continue to paralyze some airports amid the partial government shutdown affecting the TSA.

In normal times, the expedited passage might mean shaving a few minutes off wait times, which doesn’t create a big disparity.

But as TSA officers who are working without pay decide to call out sick, wait times at some airports including George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston have stretched to four hours.

Airports across the country are bracing for another crush of weekend travelers as Congress keeps haggling over how to end the partial government shutdown that has driven mounting TSA staff shortages and the longest security wait times ever.

So paid access to either fast-lane service is saving some people a major headache this week. But it raises concerns that the current system appears to privilege travelers with more money.

In addition to TSA PreCheck and Clear, travelers going overseas may also enroll – for a price – in Global Entry or other programs aimed at expediting frequent flyers between specific countries.

But the current chaos means even paying for expedited services doesn’t always mean a significant reduction in hassles.

“They don’t eliminate delays but they do move faster,” Debbie Iannaci, communications chief for Global Business Travel Association, told CNN Travel.

In the case of Clear, it hasn’t always been guaranteed to be available during the shutdown. At George Bush airport in Houston, only “standard screening is available” right now, a spokesperson for Clear told CNN Travel on Wednesday, and Clear customers were out of luck.

Here’s what to know about these services.

What is TSA PreCheck?

Travelers who enroll in TSA’s PreCheck program access designated lines at US airports that allow them to avoid taking off their shoes or remove their laptops from their bags before going through security.

It costs about $80 and is good for 5 years according to the TSA’s website, which is not being updated during the shutdown. The agency didn’t respond to comment when contacted by CNN Travel on Wednesday.

To join, travelers need to go in person to an enrollment center to be fingerprinted and submit their documents. Some CVS pharmacy locations offer the enrollment service via a biometric screening station furnished by a company called IDEMIA.

It’s available at about 200 airports and is run by the federal government. Travel pros continue to recommend it, even as lines have ballooned this week.

“PreCheck allows known, vetted travelers to move more efficiently through checkpoints while enabling TSA officers to focus their time and attention where it is most needed,” Iannacci said in an email.

But, she added, these are difficult times for air passengers and nothing is guaranteed.

“Under the current conditions created by the U.S. government shutdown … we see that system under increasingly visible strain,” she said.

Fair warning: The application process isn’t the kind of task you might decide to do on a whim right before taking a flight. Applicants receive a Known Traveler Number and that step can take as little as a few days or as long as two months.

Can I apply immediately and use TSA PreCheck this week?

No. It requires approval and applicants are fingerprinted.
Anyone interested in using PreCheck needs to first visit an enrollment center.

What is Clear?

Clear is similar to PreCheck but operated by a for-profit company.

The service is backed by Delta Air Lines and United, but it’s not available at all airports. In fact, right now, it’s available at about 60 airports, according to Clear. By comparison, TSA PreCheck is available at about three times as many airports.

For about $200 a year, Clear customers can verify their identities using biometric markers such as facial recognition at special gates or terminals found in some airports, including Boston Logan Airport, Chicago O’Hare and Dallas-Fort Worth. They are then escorted by Clear personnel to the front of the security line for processing.

In addition, Clear, which also operates at stadiums and other crowd-heavy venues, offers a concierge service where “ambassadors” meet travelers at the curb outside of the airport to guide them through check-in and security.

The application process is considerably quicker than TSA PreCheck since it can be done directly at the airport.

But travelers must be prepared to submit biometric identifiers. And while the TSA charges about $80 for five years, Clear’s $200 fee more than doubles the cost of expedited service. There are some ways to carve out a deal such as bundling TSA Precheck with Clear, and elite, frequent flyers on Delta or United catch breaks on the cost.

Clear hasn’t been available at times at some airports during the shutdown. In addition to the problems in Houston, some passengers trying to use Clear at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport ran into trouble last weekend.

Referring to the New Orleans airport, a spokesperson for Clear told CNN, “Airport conditions beyond Clear’s control temporarily affected service for some Members at MSY over the weekend.”

That raises concerns for PIRG, the consumer advocacy group.

“Anywhere someone has paid for a service such as TSA PreCheck or Clear and they are not getting the services they paid for, we would have concerns about that,” Teresa Murray, the group’s Consumer Watchdog Director, told CNN.

Can I apply immediately and use Clear this week?

Yes. Clear employees are on hand at participating airports to sign travelers up. They scan a traveler’s ID and take a photo to complete the enrollment, which can be done in a relatively short amount of time.

If I’m already at the airport, is there any help?

If you can afford $200 to sign up for Clear, and it’s offered at your airport, it could be one way to mitigate the mammoth wait times.

But as reported above, there have been some outages where the service wasn’t available to members.

And some travelers have joined security lines without realizing they are on the hook to wait for hours. It’s unclear if an airline passenger could join the security line, realize it will take hours to reach the front, and step out to sign up for Clear to avoid the hassle.

For those interested in TSA PreCheck, there’s nothing they can do on the day of travel if they haven’t already enrolled by the time they reach the airport.

Are there other options?

Passengers with some extra cash do have other limited options.

In Atlanta and Los Angeles, well-heeled travelers can use PS, which is a separate terminal where passengers are screened. According to a spokesperson, PS customers “arrive at a private terminal, pass through dedicated security, and are chauffeured directly to their aircraft, eliminating lines, congestion, and unnecessary wait times.”

And JSX offers semi-private jet service between select destinations that operates far from the crowds. It’s one of a growing number of private aviation services.

But neither option is cheap: a flight booked on JSX this week between Burbank and Dallas, for example, would cost about $1,400 roundtrip, according to the company’s online reservation system, or more than double the price of flying on Southwest Airlines.

To access the private terminal PS offers, annual memberships cost $1,250 and up. Non-members can use the facilities in Atlanta and Los Angeles on a one-time basis, starting at $895 per person.

Some airports don’t use TSA screeners and aren’t seeing any backup, as CNN reported this month. Those airports include San Francisco International, Kansas City International and Orlando Sanford.

What is the outlook for air travel?

Long lines are expected to continue. Without a funding solution, overwhelmed airports will go into the busy weekend period with spring break travel also in full swing and only a fraction of their security screening capabilities. TSA workers have been quitting or calling out in droves after going six weeks without pay.

ICE agents are now deployed to some airports. They have started verifying travelers’ IDs in some airports, DHS confirmed Wednesday.

Agents were spotted training to check boarding passes and IDs at Atlanta’s main airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

ICE agents have also been guarding entrances and exits, helping with logistics and doing crowd control after “receiving standard TSA training curriculum,” TSA said.

It’s hard to say if ICE is improving conditions at airports, although Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said Wednesday wait times are now improving.

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CNN’s Elizabeth Wolfe contributed to this story.