especially acute this time of year<\/a> as airlines and airports brace for what they expect will be one of the busiest spring break travel seasons on record.<\/p>\nAviation security expert Sheldon Jacobson, whose research contributed to the design of TSA PreCheck, said the program\u2019s success at SFO, a large international airport, shows that privatization \u201cis something that needs to be explored.\u201d<\/p>\n
SFO is among the top 15 busiest airports in the U.S. when measured by passenger traffic. A major hub for international travel, it is the second-busiest airport in California behind Los Angeles International Airport.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s operated just as well as any other airport,\u201d Jacobson said, adding that SFO\u2019s multiple concourses and status as a hub for United Airlines demonstrate that even large-scale operations can be managed effectively under this model. \u201cIf SFO is the litmus test for delivering this privatized product, then many other airports can do it, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jacobson noted that most airports currently using the program are smaller, but \u201cthe scale issue should not be a limiting factor,\u201d and he called for a broader conversation on how such options could deliver government services efficiently and benefit travelers.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course TSA would have oversight. It\u2019s not like they\u2019re freewheeling on their own,\u201d he said of privately contracted screeners. \u201cWe might as well use a government shutdown that affects air travel as an opportunity to begin that discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n
The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents TSA officers, has long opposed privatization. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe will never advocate for any privatization of any federal employees. We don\u2019t believe that\u2019ll work,\u201d Johnny Jones, secretary-treasurer of the TSA union\u2019s bargaining unit, said in a brief phone call this week.<\/p>\n
In a blog post on its website, the union argues it could weaken accountability for aviation security \u2014 one of the reasons Congress chose to federalize airport screening after the Sept. 11 attacks.<\/p>\n
The union also warned that private companies could face pressure to cut costs in ways that affect training, staffing levels and employee benefits. Relying on contractors, the union says, could create inconsistencies between airports if different companies operate checkpoints across the country, potentially complicating oversight of a system designed to maintain uniform national security standards.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to remember the TSA was created in the wake of 9\/11 when there were no security standards or very minimal security standards,\u201d said airline industry analyst Henry Harteveldt, president of Atmosphere Research Group. \u201cThe TSA came around, they established very stringent airport screening security requirements, which exist to this day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others say there are simpler ways to address the shutdown problem.<\/p>\n
Industry groups \u2014 including the U.S. Travel Association, Airlines for America and the American Association of Airport Executives \u2014 are urging Congress to pass legislation that would ensure aviation workers are paid regardless of the government’s funding status.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time Washington fails to fund the government, these essential workers pay the price. So do travelers. So does the economy,\u201d Geoff Freeman, U.S. Travel Association’s president, said in a statement. \u201cThat is why America\u2019s travel industry has come together, because this workforce is too important, and the stakes are too high, for this to keep happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
Republican lawmakers have pushed in recent years to dismantle the agency entirely and replace its screening functions with private contractors overseen by the federal government.<\/p>\n
Last year, two GOP senators introduced the \u201cAbolish TSA Act,\u201d which would phase out the agency and transfer oversight to a new office charged with aviation security. Supporters of the long-shot legislation say privatized screening could be more efficient and less vulnerable to shutdowns.<\/p>\n
TSA leadership has signaled an openness to discussion. Speaking at a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing last year, Ha Nguyen McNeill, a senior official performing the duties of TSA administrator, said \u201cnothing is off the table\u201d regarding potential privatization.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf a new privatization scheme makes sense, then we\u2019re happy to have that discussion to see what we can come up with,\u201d McNeill said. \u201cIt’s not an all-or-nothing game.”<\/p>\n
At SFO, officials say its screening model was adopted more than 20 years ago for reasons unrelated to government shutdowns. But with shutdowns in recent years growing longer and more disruptive, the airport says its arrangement has revealed an unintended benefit: fewer staffing disruptions at checkpoints.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe benefits, I think, are compelling,\u201d Harteveldt said. \u201cThe real issue is making sure that any vendor, any partner to the TSA, upholds the strict standards that TSA has established and works with TSA to ensure that screening remains efficient and finds ways to make it even better.\u201d<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Associated Press video journalist Haven Daley contributed from San Francisco.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
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