Get Back In Line

If you paid Fly Clear the $199 annual fee so that you could avoid airport security shakedowns, you and several hundred thousand others are screwed.

A major vendor that fast-tracks fliers through airport security for an annual fee of $199 will end operations tonight, according to its website and a former employee, leaving hundreds of thousands of customers in the lurch. The website of the so-called Clear program, launched by New York-based Verified Identity Pass Inc. four years ago, today carried this message: “At 11:00 p.m. PST on June 22, 2009, Clear will cease operations. Clear’s parent company, Verified Identity Pass, Inc. has been unable to negotiate an agreement with its senior creditor to continue operations.” No one answered the company’s phone this evening, which simply carried the recorded message, “You’ve reached Clear Registered Traveler.” But in a phone interview, Cindy Rosenthal, former vice president of media relations for the Clear program, confirmed that it is shutting down.

Some people pre-paid multi-year memberships and according to one source, the company was charging credit cards as late as last night.