<\/p>\n
The most recent government shutdown caused no end of headaches for travelers. So many Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) employees called in sick between Feb. 14 and April 30, 2026, that airports across the country saw massive, historic security-line and travel delays.<\/p>\n
In some airports, security lines were up to six hours long, according to a CBS report. <\/p>\n
The lapse in congressional funding for the Department of Homeland Security that led to those extraordinary wait times and traveler frustration is now driving what could become the biggest overhaul of U.S. airport screening since the TSA was founded following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.<\/p>\n
The TSA is now urging airports to consider using private companies to conduct passenger screenings. <\/p>\n
The initiative, called TSA Gold+, would expand the agency’s existing Screening Partnership Program (SPP) which began in 2002, according to Aviation Week.<\/p>\n
What the proposed TSA screening change means for travelers<\/p>\n
About 20 U.S. airports already use employees hired by private companies instead of TSA agents, who are government employees. The SPP partners must comply with all TSA screening procedures.<\/p>\n
Airports using private contractors reportedly avoided many of the disruptions at TSA-run airports, since the workers continued to be paid during the government shutdown, according to Aviation Week.<\/p>\n
More Airlines:<\/p>\n
Spirit Airlines desperately seeks help from an unexpected sourceJetBlue makes a boarding change some may likeAnother airline shuts down for summer, cancels all flights<\/p>\n
Passengers are unlikely to notice a significant difference in security procedures but may find that lines move faster at airports staffed by private contractors, at least during periods of government disruption.<\/p>\n
Airports using private screening companies<\/p>\n
The TSA lists the following airports as participating in the SPP program:<\/p>\n
Atlantic City International AirportCharles M. Schulz\u2013Sonoma County AirportDawson Community AirportGreat Falls International AirportGlacier Park International AirportGreater Rochester International AirportHavre City-County AirportKansas City International AirportL. M. Clayton AirportOrlando Sanford International AirportPortsmouth International AirportPunta Gorda AirportRoswell International Air CenterSan Francisco International AirportSarasota-Bradenton International AirportSidney-Richland Municipal AirportSioux Falls Regional AirportTupelo Regional AirportWokal Field\/Glasgow International AirportYellowstone Airport<\/p>\n
Airports staffed by private contractors did not face the same delays as those staffed by TSA employees during the recent government shutdown.<\/p>\n
Bloomberg / Getty Images<\/p>\n
The potential risks of privatizing airport screening <\/p>\n
The SPP program has been around for more than two decades, but it has had its critics. As far back as 2012, some elected officials warned that people employed by private companies might not adhere to the same standards TSA employees do. <\/p>\n
“TSA does not have the proper controls in place to regularly monitor private screener performance and does not validate data on attrition, absenteeism, and injury rates for privatized screeners,” said Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) in an announcement that was published around the time SPPs came to be.<\/p>\n
Thompson was reacting to a Government Accountability Office report that concluded, “TSA Should Issue More Guidance to Airports and Monitor Private versus Federal Screener Performance.”<\/p>\n
Related: Another airline files for bankruptcy and cancels all flights<\/p>\n
More recently, labor groups have protested a lack of transparency around private screening programs, as reported in AFAR.<\/p>\n
\u201cTSA officers worked without pay twice this fiscal year,\u201d Against Giants Labor Advocates posted on Facebook on May 19. \u201cThey showed up anyway. Now they are . . . watching a privatization architecture being built around them that was never disclosed to Congress and was not communicated to them until last week. Against Giants is documenting this not to cast officers as victims, but because the record demands it and the workforce deserves to have it stated plainly.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, in light of a 28 percent increase in passenger volume over the last decade, proponents for SPP programs say more options for passenger screening are needed.<\/p>\n
“TSA screened 906 million passengers in 2025, while it screened over 708 million passengers in 2015 \u2014 [yet] the officer workforce has grown a little over 8 percent,” reported Homeland Security Today.<\/p>\n
Most recent TSA rule changes<\/p>\n
Like many government agencies, the TSA is constantly changing rules. Here is a look at some of the most recent changes that affect airline passengers and how screenings are conducted.<\/p>\n
May 7, 2025: Real ID now required for domestic flights; travelers now need a Real ID-compliant license or another approved ID to fly within the U.S.Jan. 13, 2025: TSA finalized phased Real ID. enforcement; travelers without compliant IDs may face extra screening or delays.July 8, 2025: TSA ends the shoes-off policy at many airports; many passengers can now keep shoes on during screening.2025: Power banks remain banned from checked bags; spare lithium batteries and power banks must go in carry-on luggage. (For details about what is allowed in checked and carry-on baggage, use the FAAs \u201cPack Safe\u201d tool.)Expanded in 2025: Digital IDs rolled out at more airports; TSA expanded acceptance of mobile driver\u2019s licenses and digital IDs.Expanded in 2025: TSA increased biometric screening technology; more airports added facial recognition and automated ID verification systems.
\nSource: Transportation Security Administration<\/p>\n
Related: TSA chaos unexpectedly gives one company a huge lift<\/p>\n
#TSA #eyes #major #airport #security #overhaul<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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