SerpApi.Org
NORTH CHARLESTON — Charleston International Airport will be one of the first in the nation to take part in a new federal initiative aimed at expanding private involvement in airport security.
CHS is one of three airports taking part in the Transportation Security Administration's TSA Gold+ program starting next year. TSA also plans to launch the program at the airports in Tampa and Des Moines, Iowa.
TSA Gold+, as the program is called, follows renewed debate over privatizing airport security after federal government shutdowns caused staffing shortages and lengthy security lines nationally when unpaid TSA employees called out of work.
The new public-private partnership allows airports to voluntarily adopt customized security screening systems using private-sector investment and technology.
Why Charleston?
Airport CEO Elliott Summey said the move is intended to provide more for screening officers without changing established security standards.
"This decision is about investing in the people who protect our travelers every day by providing them with better tools, greater workplace stability and the support they deserve while continuing to deliver the highest level of aviation security," Summey said.
TSA will continue to oversee all screening operations, establish federal security requirements and conduct regular inspections.
"As our airport continues to grow, we will continue investing in our people, embracing innovation and enhancing the passenger experience," Summey said. "The TSA Gold+ program allows us to accomplish all three while maintaining the high standards our community, passengers and airline partners expect from Charleston International Airport."
Summey said the airport was approached by TSA this year and CHS leaders were interested in the partnership because it would help ensure TSA employees remain paid through federal shutdowns. In June, he said the the conversations had nothing to do with the operation of TSA currently, but they were more focused on how it could maintain the continuity of paychecks for TSA staff.
More than 200 TSA employees work on the North Charleston airport campus, where the statewide headquarters is based.
After 40-plus unpaid days earlier this year, Summey said at the time that TSA staff were struggling to buy gas, put food on the table and pay their rent, mortgages and other bills.
Charleston International Airport stepped up. During the last federal shutdown, CHS had a tank with 2,300 gallons of gas delivered for furloughed federal employees to fill up, while airport and airline staff organized drives and restaurant and hotel partners stepped in to serve breakfast and lunch to agents during the workday at no charge.
How it works
The program expands on TSA's existing screening partnership program by allowing private operators to manage screening technology and workforce while TSA oversees security standards. Participating airports can tailor checkpoint operations to their specific needs without waiting for federal budget cycles.
Charleston airport officials said all current TSA officers who wish to remain will have the opportunity to transition to the private contractor with equivalent pay and benefits. The program also promises to introduce advanced screening methods to improve checkpoint efficiency at CHS.
According to TSA, airports that opt into the program receive staffing, technology and maintenance at no additional cost. The agency said the initiative is designed to “accelerate innovation, enhance security and improve efficiency at participating airports.”
The program was announced months after President Donald Trump unveiled a 2027 budget proposal that called for handing more airport security over to private companies, according to CNN. The White House's latest budget proposal would require small airports to use private security screeners through TSA's screening partnership program — a change the administration says would save an estimated $52 million and reform the federal agency.
Some aren’t on board
Privatizing airport security isn’t unprecedented. There are 20 airports across the country, including San Francisco, already handle airport screening through a private company rather than the TSA.
Not everyone agrees that the TSA Gold+ program is the best path.
The American Federation of Government Employees, the union that represents about 47,000 TSA officers nationwide, has vowed to fight the shift.
The union has stated that while TSA staff theoretically would provide oversight, they would no longer be directly in charge of screening passengers or carry-on items at these participating airports — which they see as a major safety risk.
“Make no mistake — this is a major departure and step backwards from the aviation screening security system that Congress created in the wake of the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks in 2001 and the deadly bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Scotland in 1988,” Everett Kelley, AFGE’s national president, said in a statement. “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.”
