US Edition20 US airports don’t have TSA. Passengers there are not seeing long lines
Private security contractors at 20 U.S. airports maintain normal screening operations during the shutdown as federal TSA employees face unpaid absences, experts say.
- At 20 U.S. airports, private companies operate security checkpoints and avoid shutdown-driven lines, with private-screened airports largely unaffected by staffing shortages tied to the partial government shutdown.
- Because federal screeners haven’t been paid for more than a month, private firms like BOS Security have kept contractor-run checkpoints operating by covering payroll.
- Long waits at TSA-run hubs contrast with sub-3-minute lines at SPP airports, where private screeners undergo the same training under federal oversight, as many TSA officers didn’t show up this week.
- Operationally, airports can’t quickly switch to contractors during a shutdown, limiting short-term fixes, and AFGE says contracts often prioritize profit over passenger safety.
- Most SPP sites are small-to-medium airports, and expanding requires TSA permission and a transition that could take up to six months, before September 11, 2001, airport security was privately operated, providing historical context for today’s model.
18 Articles
18 Articles
As TSA Chaos Spreads, Some Airports Have Solved the Security-Screening Problem
There are 20 airports that have jumped through the TSA's bureaucratic hoops and are allowed to use private contractors to conduct screening. Among them are the Kansas City and San Francisco International Airports.
New York Post
Fox NewsWhy some US airports are dodging TSA shutdown chaos while others grind to a halt
At least 20 airports across the country participate in the Transportation Security Administration's Screening Partnership Program (SPP), which was founded in 2004 and allows private companies to conduct security screening under TSA oversight, Business Insider reported this week.
At 20 U.S. airports, the security inspection is not carried out by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), but by private companies, and their checkpoints do not have long lines. Airports such as San Francisco International, Kansas City International, Orlando Sanford International and 17 other smaller facilities participate in the TSA Inspection Association Program (SPP), which employs contractors at checkpoints. These private companie…
20 US airports don’t have TSA. Passengers there are not seeing long lines
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.
These 20 US Airports Don’t Use TSA and Security Lines Are Not Out of Control - The Bulkhead Seat
As long security lines plague major airports across the United States during the ongoing government shutdown, a group of airports is largely avoiding the chaos altogether. At 20 airports nationwide, security screening is handled not by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), but by private contractors. So far, those airports are not seeing the same widespread delays. Airports including San Francisco International Airport (SFO), Kansas …
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