A "concierge service" that lets paying members bypass airport security lines is unfair to other travelers, California lawmaker says.

A new bill, the first of its kind in the U.S., would ban security screening company Clear from operating at California airports as lawmakers take aim at companies that let consumers pay to pass through security ahead of other travelers.

Sen. Josh Newman, a California Democrat and the sponsor of the legislation, said Clear effectively lets wealthier people skip in front of passengers who have been waiting to be screened by Transportation Security Administration agents.

“It’s a basic equity issue when you see people subscribed to a concierge service being escorted in front of people who have waited a long time to get to the front of TSA line,” Newman told CBS MoneyWatch. “Everyone is beaten down by the travel experience, and if Clear escorts a customer in front of you and tells TSA, ‘Sorry, I have someone better,’ it’s really frustrating.”

If passed, the bill would bar Clear, a private security clearance company founded in 2010, from airports in California. Clear charges members $189 per year to verify passengers’ identities at airports and escort them through security, allowing them to bypass TSA checkpoints. The service is in use at roughly 50 airports across the U.S., as well as at dozens of sports stadiums and other venues.

    • dogslayeggs@lemmy.world
      0·
      5 months ago

      You: “Rich fucks should wait in line with us”

      Also you: “Oh no I have to wait in line for a few more minutes. Woe is me woe is me.”

      So if it isn’t such a big deal to wait in line for a few more minutes, then why do you have a problem with rich people paying extra to avoid it? You are happy, they are happy, right?

        • dogslayeggs@lemmy.world
          0·
          5 months ago

          But you just said a few more minutes is no big deal. Woe is me woe is me. If you don’t care about a few more minutes, then why do you care if your line is a little longer?

          • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
            0·
            5 months ago

            What part is your rich ass not getting? There are four lines if everyone just waits in the lines the lines move quick. If you make a special rich person line it means the other three move slowly as one line isn’t at capacity.

            I do not know how clear I can make it. Your rich person line sucks, you suck if you use it, and everyone has to suffer because you looked at a finite resource and said “fuck you, I got mine”.