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The Transportation Security Administration has notified the American Federation of Government Employees that it plans to launch a new security privatization initiative, called TSA Gold+, at three domestic airports next year.
According to the union, which represents approximately 47,000 Transportation Security Officers nationwide, the program will initially launch at airports in Tampa, Florida; Charleston, South Carolina; and Des Moines, Iowa.
Under the initiative, private contractors will manage passenger and carry-on screening operations as well as the screening technology used to detect weapons and explosives. TSA personnel will maintain theoretical oversight but will no longer directly conduct screening operations at the participating locations.
The proposal comes alongside federal budget plans for fiscal year 2027 that seek to eliminate 8,400 TSO positions, representing roughly 14% of the agency’s screening workforce. The administration proposes replacing about 4,500 of those positions with private contractor staff by expanding the Screening Partnership Program to mandate private screening at all Category III and IV small and non-hub airports.
Currently, about 20 of the nation’s 440 commercial airports participate in private screening programs on a voluntary basis. The administration’s proposal would expand that figure to approximately 220 airports.
AFGE, which opposes the expansion, argues the initiative moves away from the centralized security system established by Congress following major aviation attacks.
“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,” said AFGE National President Everett Kelley.
Kelley criticized the lack of broader consultation regarding the structural changes to airport 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,” Kelley said.
The union stated that the proposed cuts and contractor expansions indicate a broader push toward full privatization of airport security operations.
“The Trump administration’s clear objective is to ultimately privatize all aviation security screening functions, and we don’t have to theorize about what that may look like because we have been through this before and witnessed the devastating and deadly consequences,” Kelley said. “The administration’s actions should concern all Americans, and AFGE will continue to speak out against any proposal that threatens our members’ jobs and jeopardizes the safety of the flying public.”
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TSA Eyes Airport Privatization In Florida, South Carolina, And Iowa As Union Warns Of Security Risks
