Three Airports Adopt Gold+ Private Screening to Avoid Shutdown Staffing Chaos

The federal government’s inability to fund the Department of Homeland Security has turned airport security checkpoints into a battleground of attrition. Three U.S. airports have become the first to opt in to the Transportation Security Administration’s new voluntary public-private screening initiative, called Gold+. The airports — Tampa International Airport, Des Moines International Airport and Charleston International Airport — plan to transition to the initiative, an agency spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday.

The Financial Breaking Point for Federal Officers

The push toward privatization is a response to a staffing crisis. Since the partial shutdown began, the rate of unscheduled absences among TSA officers has more than doubled nationwide, according to TSA statistics. Typical call-out rates of 2% increased to 6.16%, with some hubs seeing higher rates.

• JFK International: Reached a 21% average call-out rate, peaking at 76% during a Feb. 23 blizzard.
• Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson: Reported a 19% call-out rate.
• Houston Hobby: Saw an 18% call-out rate.
• New Orleans Louis Armstrong: Recorded a 14% call-out rate.
• Pittsburgh International Airport: Recorded a 13% call-out rate.

This financial instability is compounded by low baseline wages.

Private Screening as a Shutdown Hedge

Airports that have already adopted the Screening Partnership Program (SPP)—established in 2004—are largely avoiding this turmoil. Because private screeners are paid through pre-funded federal contracts, they are not impacted in the same way as TSA workers. Doug Yakel, a spokesperson for SFO, told Fox News Digital that this has helped maintain a stable workforce while other airports face staffing shortages.

Tampa, Charleston, and Des Moines Airports Adopt TSA Gold+ Private Screening

As THV11 reported, the Screening Partnership Program allows airports to outsource security screenings while maintaining TSA oversight.

The Trade-off: Security Standards vs. Labor Costs

The transition to private security isn’t without friction. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) argues that privatization is just a way to cut pay and benefits. The law creating the program required that private security operators prove they’re meeting or exceeding the safety standards set by the TSA, but they can’t exceed what it would cost the federal government to screen at that airport.

The current crisis saw more than 300 officers quit the agency, according to TSA statistics.

Operational Outlook

However, the underlying instability remains. A GAO report found that TSA’s workforce has long struggled with some of the lowest morale in the federal government, driven in part by years of comparatively low pay and persistent workplace frustrations, and warned that unless those underlying issues were addressed, the risk of officers leaving the workforce was likely to persist.

For now, the divide is clear: airports like SFO, Tampa, and Charleston are betting that private contracts provide a firewall against political volatility, while the remaining federal workforce continues to operate in a state of financial precariousness.