TSA announces new private partnership, TSA Gold+, to meet travel demands, 'evolving travel threats'

The Transportation Security Administration has announced a new public-private partnership called TSA Gold+ that enables airports to opt in to a tailored security service matching the needs of the airport.

It is designed to help deal with “rising travel volumes” and “evolving travel threats,” according to the TSA Gold+ website. Airports will have their own operations through TSA Gold+ with no added costs to the airports themselves.

“TSA Gold+ enables airports to both tailor operations to their unique needs and accelerate innovation, all while ensuring robust security standards,” according to the TSA Gold+ website.

TSA already subcontracts travel screenings through private firms via the Screening Partnership Program (SPP). Companies contracted through this partnership and TSA Gold+ are required to follow TSA procedures.

There are currently 20 airports in the SPP. The San Francisco International Airport and Kansas City International Airport are two of the larger participating airports.

Under the SPP, security vendors use screening technology provided by TSA. Under Gold+, the vendors themselves will provide the screening equipment.

Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), a labor union that represents TSA workers, said he was concerned about the quality of security from contracted services.

“And this reality is why we need trained professionals conducting security screening who are accountable to the public, not to a contractor’s bottom line,” Kelley said.

TSA Gold+ has not released any information about airports that have expressed interest in partnering. Gold+ follows long TSA wait times and staffing shortages during recent government shutdowns.

With the Department of Homeland Security partial shutdown lasting for 76 days in the spring, TSA officers worked for 44 days without pay. Over 1,000 of the Transportation Security Administration's 50,000 officers quit during the shutdown, according to POLITICO.

Once implemented, TSA Gold+ airport travelers could notice reduced wait times, a TSA spokesperson told TIME.