20 US airports don’t have TSA. Passengers there are not seeing long lines
Employees from Covenant Aviation Security
Washington, DC (CNN) — At 20 airports in the United States, security screening is handled not by the Transportation Security Administration, but by private companies — and their checkpoints aren’t seeing long lines.
Airports like San Francisco International, Kansas City International, Orlando Sanford, and 17 smaller facilities participate in TSA’s Screening Partnership Program which uses contractors at the checkpoints.
The private companies have avoided the large-scale absences some airports that use TSA staff are struggling with right now during the partial government shutdown.
“These 20 airports are completely oblivious to the government shutdown,” said Sheldon Jacobson, a founder professor of computer science who analyzes data to improve aviation security.
“Airport lines got you down?” VMD Corp., which runs the checkpoints in Kansas City and Orlando Sanford International, asked on social media. “The professional teams at our SPP (Screening Partnership Programs) airports have less than 3 minute lines.”
Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport have both seen wait times exceed two hours this week, as more than a third of TSA employees at each airport didn’t show up to work.
The government-employed screeners have not gotten paid in more than a month as Congress remains locked in a stalemate over funding the Department of Homeland Security due to immigration reform.
Yet, the logjam has not impacted screeners who work for private companies.
“All operations at the privatized airports are normal because we continue paying our employees during the shutdown,” said Nat Carmack of BOS Security, which screens passengers at Tupelo Regional Airport in Mississippi. “Our employees have never missed a paycheck during any of the government shutdowns.”
Carmack said while employees are getting paid, the company will have to cover the expense while it waits for the government to reopen and pay its bills.
“As a small business, it’s a burden, but we cover those payrolls until the government reopens and processes our invoices,” Carmack said.
All private airport security operations remain under federal oversight and must comply with the same rules TSA agents follow. The companies do get to decide how many people to hire and what to pay them.
Keith Jeffries is the former TSA federal security director at Los Angeles International Airport and current vice president of K2 Security Screening Group. He said airports always have the choice to use private companies for screening, but what happens at the checkpoint stays the same, no matter who is operating it.
The security screeners with private companies “receive the same type of training as TSA,” Jeffries said.
Not a quick fix for staffing shortages
Airports experiencing problems with TSA staff not showing up during this current shutdown can’t simply call a contractor and bring in private employees within a few days.
For an airport to implement private screening, it must first get permission from TSA. If approved, a contract could be issued within a year. TSA would select the company that could take over within six months, according to BOS Security.
The transition and application process might bar larger airports to opt in, as they might have a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” attitude, Jeffries said.
BOS Security points to studies it says show private contractors do a better job at stopping contraband, are more cost-effective and have higher employee satisfaction.
AFGE, the union which represents TSA screeners, says contracts, usually awarded to the lowest bidder, compromise the safety of the traveling public, incentivize companies to prioritize profit over passengers or employees, and actually cause staff shortages.
They also note that prior to the September 11, 2001, terror attack all airport security in the United States was operated by private companies.
Jacobson, the professor who studies aviation security systems, thinks of privatizing more of like a “partnership.” He points to NAV CANADA, which has operated Canada’s air traffic control system since it privatized in 1996.
“You don’t set the standards in the private sector,” Jacobson said. “You deliver the final product… in the private sector.”
Airports with private airport security
- Atlantic City International Airport; New Jersey
- Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport; California
- Dawson Community Airport; Montana
- Great Falls International Airport; Montana
- Glacier Park International Airport; Montana
- Greater Rochester International Airport; New York
- Havre City-County Airport; Montana
- Kansas City International Airport; Missouri
- L. M. Clayton Airport; Montana
- Orlando Sanford International Airport; Florida
- Portsmouth International Airport; New Hampshire
- Punta Gorda Airport; Florida
- Roswell International Air Center; New Mexico
- San Francisco International Airport; California
- Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport; Florida
- Sidney-Richland Municipal Airport; Montana
- Sioux Falls Regional Airport; South Dakota
- Tupelo Regional Airport; Mississippi
- Wokal Field/Glasgow International Airport; Montana
- Yellowstone Airport; Montana
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