Waitlisted

Has anyone heard when PDX will get Clear? Seems crazy that tiny PSP has it but not PDX. I am assuming it has to do with BC and DE gates currently not connected until 2025 remodel is complete but emailing clear they say they have no plans for PDX. The pre-check line at Portland BC gates Sunday at 6am was over an hour, worse about a week earlier too, so really need this.

chrisl137

Having to serve multiple separate terminals at LAX isn’t a problem for CLEAR, even when the terminals are connected airside. I usually fly out of pdx afternoons and evenings and don’t run into slow precheck at those times. When I used to fly out mornings it was slower, but never as bad as an hour. Maybe CLEAR depends on more rush periods than pdx sees?

dayone

My guess is not before the terminal reconstruction is completed.

Through "Get in Touch" on the CLEAR app, I periodically send a request to add PDX (and SNA and PIT).

mtofell

I've never seen anything close to an hour at PDX for PreCheck and honestly this is really hard to believe. I've gone through PDX PreCheck +/- 10X over the last six months around 6/7AM and have never waited more than 10 minutes. An hour on a Sunday morning and worse a week earlier? Hmmm.

One thing notable when I went through this morning is that the PreCheck line is now to the left of the general boarding line. The new side has you put everything in bins where the old setup was just throw bags directly on the belt. When I first read the post I was thinking maybe there was some changeover/confusion/problem on Sunday AM with the move and new equipment but that doesn't explain the "even worse" a week earlier.

Out of curiosity, how far back was an hour (or worse) wait? Did the line snake back out in front of the ticket counter? During times of chaos I've seen the general boarding line back to where it gets mixed in with people in the AS ticket counter line. I can't even imagine how far back an hour wait for PreCheck would be.

brentyb

I havent seen precheck at PDX an hour long, but it could definitely benefit from having clear. Mainly because it is my home airport and I fly out of it at least once a week.

PDX4MSU

Take this with a grain of salt because I can't cite my source, but PDX management is opposed to CLEAR so we are unlikely to see it. Can't remember the rationale but this was a conscious decision. As for the TSA Precheck delays, PDX is piloting the new x-ray machines which are super slow. Hopefully, the machines won't become permanent.

dayone

DL and UA own stakes in CLEAR and can be influential where new locations are added. It would be nice if AS joined the party.

navydevildoc

It seems like PDX is a frequent location for trialing new tech. They were the first ones to get the "Scan ID, not boarding Pass" tech a few years ago as well.

brentyb

New x-ray machines are brutally slow

navydevildoc

I can't possibly imagine what they are doing that is so groundbreaking. Are they CT scanners like the baggage machines?

be_rettSEA

Yes: https://www.travelandleisure.com/air...ts-this-summer

chrisl137

i noticed that today. Precheck on a Tuesday evening was slow and had a line and the new machine seemed slow. It was my first time through the new ones and I was trying to decide if it really was slow or my memory was bad. But a lot slower than on the outbound from LAX last week.

Waitlisted

it was two sundays in a row, with the new line on the left. However yesterday I was one of only six in the precheck line. I asked a TSA guy and he said I got caught first time in the use of the new machine which was rejecting every bag,, and second time a bunch of people off with Covid. I too go through there a lot and it was nuts, especially considering it was a Sunday morning.

Dynastar

As a former TSA employee the issue with the new machines is they do more to force you to actually check the bag. The speed that most officers got on the old machine was by keeping the belt running and hoping the bags were clean.