Phoenix airport offering biometric scanners to shorten wait

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is integrating biometric technology that will ease the wait time for travellers willing to pay a fee.

Biometric screening company Clear unveiled kiosks with fingerprint and iris scanners Wednesday inside Terminal 4.

The privately-run scanners will be made available at some point at the other terminals.

Clear officials say passengers with a membership will move through a separate line where their identities would be verified with “the tap of a finger or blink of the eye.”

But they would still have to go through bag checks and metal detectors.

Annual membership costs $179. An additional family member can be added for $50 per year. Children under the age of 18 can enrol for free.

Sky Harbor is the 25th airport nationwide where Clear operates.