Passengers can now make free security line reservations at some airports

Have you ever walked into the airport, seen the backed-up line for security and wished it was possible to make a reservation? Believe it or not, passengers can save a spot in line right now for free.

Reserve powered by Clear allows passengers to reserve a time slot in security lines in a number of U.S. cities, including Denver, Los Angeles (LAX), Minneapolis, New York (JFK), Newark, Orlando, Phoenix and Seattle. It’s also available in five Canadian airports, in Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal ,and six European airports, in the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Iceland.

The service launched in October 2021 at Orlando International Airport, one of the country’s busiest airports thanks to major tourist attractions such as Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort.

If you don’t know Clear, think of it as a private-sector version of TSA PreCheck, offering advance security screenings to make your airport experiences faster and easier. It is currently available in more than 50 airports and crossed the 12 million-member mark in early 2022.

Here’s a picture of a Clear kiosk, posted to the company’s Facebook page.

While Clear offers a paid membership program that promises expedited service through TSA airport security lines, Reserve is a different, complimentary service available for all passengers.

How can travelers take advantage of this program? It’s as simple as using your smartphone or computer to make a reservation online! Follow these steps:

First, visit the Reserve website. Select the participating airport location where you are departing from. On the next screen, enter your trip date, your destination, airline and flight number where prompted.

Once you’ve continued to the next page, you can tell the service how many passengers will be on the reservation. Click “Next” to access the “Schedule your appointments” page. The available reservation slots should align with your flight time.

Click through and you’ll be asked to enter your name and email address. After you’ve done that, you can move to the next page and confirm your party size, time and terminal details.

After you’ve clicked on “Create An Appointment,” you will then see a screen that says “Your appointments” with your reservation date, time and location, which you can confirm or cancel. A confirmation email will also be sent with more details.

Once you and your party arrive at the airport, head directly to the Reserve area near the security line, show your reservation on your smartphone and you’ll move to the front!

You can also go through this process on the Clear app. When Orlando International Airport debuted the Reserve service, it featured a simple tutorial on Twitter describing how to make a reservation.

If you’re getting ready to head out of any of the participating airports, don’t miss your chance to take advantage of this free service to make your check-in time faster and easier.