The Transportation Security Administration is retiring TSA Gold+, the checkpoint privatization program it rolled out just three months ago, and replacing it with what the agency calls an evolved version of an older program instead.
TSA Administrator David P. Cummins announced the change Monday as part of a broader initiative called the Horizon 25 Strategy, timed to the agency’s approaching 25th anniversary.
The move affects airports nationwide and comes days after Tampa International Airport, among the first airports to sign on to Gold+, reportedly opted out.
What happened to TSA Gold+
TSA unveiled Gold+ in May, pitching it as a way to let private contractors not just staff checkpoints but own and manage the screening equipment itself, a step beyond the agency’s decades-old Screening Partnership Program (SPP), which requires private screeners to use TSA-approved equipment.
The idea was to speed up modernization and ease staffing shortages that have contributed to long security lines.
Tampa International, along with Charleston International and Des Moines International, opted into Gold+ in late July, with a transition to private screening targeted for completion by May 2027.
TSA says an “evolved Screening Partnership Program” will now absorb the private-sector role Gold+ was designed to fill, folding the newer initiative back into the agency’s more established framework rather than running it as a separate track.
Why Tampa reportedly wanted out
Tampa’s airport decision to opt in to TSA Gold+ drew backlash from the public and workforce. A spokesperson for TPA shared the following statement with Gate Access:
While public input is certainly important to TPA, our decision to not proceed with TSA Gold+ came after months of careful review and consideration of the Gold+ details in determining whether it would be a fit for our Airport.
TSA has not issued a public statement addressing Tampa specifically, and the agency’s Horizon 25 announcement does not mention the airport.
Who is David Cummins
The Senate confirmed Cummins on Aug. 7 as TSA’s newest administrator. He spent his career in the private sector as a transportation executive, overseeing strategy and acquisitions for transportation systems in roughly 30 countries. Earlier in his career, he served as director of operations management for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, work that earned him the Project Management Institute’s International Project of the Year Award.
He holds an MBA from the University of Michigan, a master’s in international affairs from George Washington University, and a bachelor’s in political science from Messiah University.
“TSA does not have to choose between a secure checkpoint, an efficient checkpoint and an elevated passenger experience,” Cummins said in the agency’s announcement. “Through Horizon 25, TSA can, and will, deliver all three at once.”
What travelers need to know
For most travelers, none of this changes what happens at the checkpoint tomorrow.
The bigger shift is behind the scenes. TSA is signaling that the future of airport security will still involve private contractors, just under a revised version of a two-decade-old program rather than the untested Gold+ model.
Roughly 20 U.S. airports already operate under the existing Screening Partnership Program, so travelers moving through those checkpoints are unlikely to notice any difference.
Travelers flying through Tampa can expect screening to remain under TSA control for now, though changes across the nation could return as the Horizon 25 rollout continues through the fall.
One last thing
TSA said Cummins will convene agency personnel in September to accelerate the Horizon 25 initiatives, which also include expanding PreCheck and countering drone threats near airports.
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