A partial government shutdown earlier this year sent Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport into chaos.
Transportation Security Administration officers went weeks without pay, and soon many were calling out or simply not showing up for their shifts, a move that was largely supported by passengers.
The result, however, was hours-long waits in security lines, missed flights and ICE officers infiltrating the airport to keep the operations moving.
Now, airports across the country are weighing the possibility of changing their security forces from the government-funded (and politically dependent) TSA to privatized security services.
The city of Atlanta wants to see how it could work at the world’s busiest airport.
City Council Approves Feasibility Study
The Atlanta City Council voted 11-1 to request the Department of Aviation commission a feasibility study of privatized security at Hartsfield-Jackson.
The study is supposed to be completed over 90 days, and would give the city an idea of how private security would actually work and what it could cost. The department would evaluate the theoretical application of the Screening Partnership Program, an existing government-private security partnership program.
Hartsfield-Jackson, while part of both Clayton and Fulton Counties, is operated by the city. Officials estimate that the cost of TSA screening operations annually is between $140 million to $240 million.
If a private partnership could lower these costs, while also offering more stability in the current political climate, the city may choose to transition the airport.
What Is the Screening Partnership Program?
There are at least 20 airports in the United States that already use private security, though they are predominantly smaller and regional airports.
“The Screening Partnership Program contracts security screening services at commercial airports to qualified private companies,” according to the TSA. “These companies run screening operations under federal oversight and must comply with all TSA security screening procedures.”
San Francisco International Airport and Kansas City International Airport are the largest to use the program so far, but airports in the northeast, west and southern states have largely not yet transitioned.
If Atlanta chose to go to privatized security, it would be the largest and busiest to make the change, as well as being a security hotspot due to the high number of international flights.
Hartsfield-Jackson Will Be Put to the Test
The feasibility study would finish after Atlanta hosts eight matches for the FIFA 2026 World Cup, which will bring tens of thousands of travelers to Hartsfield-Jackson.
The airport has been working for years to prepare for the increase in passenger traffic, both at the domestic and international terminal, but the staff is still recovering from the weeks of uncertainty and stress from the partial shutdown.
The extra passenger traffic in June and July may help city officials make a decision about which security process is right for the airport.
Irene Wright is the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Today’s Deep South Connect team.
