A trio of US airports is preparing to trade federal screeners for private ones, and the union representing tens of thousands of TSA workers is sounding the alarm, reports the New York Times. Tampa, Des Moines, and Charleston have signed on to Gold+, a new public-private screening program that lets airports hire contractors to run checkpoints and manage scanning technology, while TSA retains oversight. Airport officials say the move is meant to insulate them from future government shutdowns that left officers unpaid and lines stretching for hours, and to speed up access to newer security equipment.
The American Federation of Government Employees, which the Tampa Bay Times notes represents some 47,000 workers, calls it a risky step back toward the pre-9/11 patchwork of private security. "Changes of this magnitude should not be made behind closed doors without the input of Congress, the flying public, the local airport authorities, and TSA employees themselves," says Everett Kelley, the union's president. "We don't have to theorize about what (privatization) may look like because we have been through this before." The three airports have been briefed, with transitions slated for early to mid-2027; existing officers would be able to stay on under the new contractors, with pay and benefits required by law to match TSA levels. Atlanta's airport, the world's busiest, is separately studying whether to follow suit.
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