By Calvin Biesecker
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority yesterday selected Verified Identity Pass to be the Registered Traveler (RT) Service Provider for both Dulles International and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airports, further boosting the company’s dominant position in the fledgling domestic market for airport trusted traveler programs.
On Tuesday, Verified Identity’s Clear RT brand was selected by the Oakland, Calif., Board of Port Commissioners to provide RT services at two passenger screening checkpoints at Oakland International Airport. Verified Identity has been selected as the RT Service Provider in 15 airports in the United States.
Vigilant Solutions provides RT services at Jacksonville International Airport in Florida and Unisys [UIS], which is selling its rtGO RT service to FLO Corp., operates RT services at Reno/Tahoe Airport in Nevada. Biometric-enabled smart cards that are used by RT members are interoperable with the equipment each service provider installs at their respective airports. That interoperability allows each RT Service Provider to market their respective services in markets where a competitor has won the right to install its RT equipment in an airport.
Dulles and Reagan Airports combined handle over 41 million passengers annually.
“We’re confident that given the location and passenger volume, Dulles and Reagan will become two of our largest and most visible operations,” Verified Identity Chief Steven Brill said in a statement yesterday.
Verified Identity has been charging its Clear members $100 annually for the RT service, which generally expedites their passage through the aviation security checkpoint. This week, the company is raising its fee to $128, which continues to include a $28 screening fee imposed by the Transportation Security Administration.