The World’s Busiest Airport Looked at Ditching TSA and Said No

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport will keep its federal TSA screeners. On Monday, November 9, a feasibility study presented to the Atlanta City Council’s transportation committee recommended against switching to private contractors. The council asked for the study in May after long security lines during the 76-day partial federal shutdown earlier this year, when TSA officers worked without pay and absences led to major delays and missed flights in Atlanta. Aviation consultancy Ricondo carried out the analysis.

The option on the table was TSA’s Screening Partnership Program, which lets airports use private screeners working under TSA oversight. Only 20 of the country’s 516 commercial airports use it, and together they handle about 4.2 percent of US travelers. Atlanta alone screens more passengers each year than all 20 combined, and the largest airport in the program, San Francisco, handles about half Atlanta’s volume. Assistant general manager Tom Nissalke said the study found no cost difference for the airport or for passengers.

The study also found that private screening would not have protected Atlanta from a shutdown. Contractors kept paying staff during the last one but were not reimbursed, and the report warned that in a longer shutdown they might not be able to cover payroll. Moving the airport’s roughly 1,300 TSA employees to a new employer was judged an operational risk. General manager Ricky Smith said the city, the mayor and the chief operating officer agree on not privatizing checkpoint management.

For the millions who fly through Atlanta, the result is continuity. Council member Byron Amos, who requested the study, said the issue had never been the TSA workers and urged Congress to make sure aviation is looked after in future budget fights. The local TSA union welcomed the outcome. Nationally, TSA’s separate Gold+ public-private checkpoint pilot ended in August, so travelers this Thanksgiving will find federal officers at the checkpoints as usual.

Sources: Atlanta News First, FOX 5 Atlanta