In March, the air travel industry ground to a halt.

The coronavirus pandemic was spreading, and both airlines and passengers were caught unprepared. Most of the world, including the United States, began turning away foreign visitors, not wanting to bring more of the virus past their borders. Some airplanes were turned around in midair and sent back to where they’d come from.

By April, airlines and airports faced a grave reality: Nobody was flying, and revenue was plummeting. Scenes of empty airports became common in the news. At Los Angeles International Airport, the second-largest in the U.S., the number of departing passengers dropped by 95% compared to the same time period in 2019, according to an internal message obtained by OneZero via public records request. Airline stocks plummeted, and some cities began bailing out airport concession stands and car rental companies.

For Clear, an identity verification company that serves airline passengers, the slowdown seemed like an existential threat. Clear’s 5 million members pay for an annual subscription that lets them…