Three Airports Plan to Ditch T.S.A. Amid Push for Private Security

Three U.S. airports have become the first to opt in to the Transportation Security Administration’s new private screening model, prompting staunch opposition from the union that represents thousands of T.S.A. workers.

The airports — Tampa International Airport, Des Moines International Airport and Charleston International Airport — plan to transition to the new voluntary public-private screening initiative, an agency spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday. The initiative, called Gold+, has been billed by the agency as an update to an existing program through which 20 U.S. airports, including San Francisco International, use private security screeners rather than federal workers. The T.S.A. first announced the new program in a mass email to staff members in May.

In the wake of recent government shutdowns, which left T.S.A. agents unpaid for months and led to long lines, airport officials in Tampa and Des Moines said they hoped using the program would reduce the risk of disruptions while allowing airports to access new screening checkpoint technology that they say would otherwise take years to obtain through the traditional federal process.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/22/travel/tsa-privatization-push.html