Washington, DC
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n At 20 airports in the United States, security screening is handled not by the Transportation Security Administration, but by private companies \u2014 and their checkpoints aren\u2019t seeing long lines.\n <\/p>\n
\n Airports like San Francisco International, Kansas City International, Orlando Sanford, and 17 smaller facilities participate in TSA\u2019s Screening Partnership Program<\/a> which uses contractors at the checkpoints.\n <\/p>\n \n The private companies have avoided the large-scale absences some airports that use TSA staff are struggling with right now during the partial government shutdown.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThese 20 airports are completely oblivious to the government shutdown,\u201d said Sheldon Jacobson, a founder professor of computer science who analyzes data to improve aviation security.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cAirport lines got you down?\u201d VMD Corp., which runs the checkpoints in Kansas City and Orlando Sanford International, asked on social media<\/a>. \u201cThe professional teams at our SPP (Screening Partnership Programs) airports have less than 3 minute lines.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Houston\u2019s George Bush Intercontinental and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport have both seen wait times exceed two hours this week, as more than a third of TSA employees at each airport didn\u2019t show up to work.\n <\/p>\n \n The government-employed screeners have not gotten paid in more than a month<\/a> as Congress remains locked in a stalemate over funding the Department of Homeland Security due to immigration reform.\n <\/p>\n \n Yet, the logjam has not impacted screeners who work for private companies.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cAll operations at the privatized airports are normal because we continue paying our employees during the shutdown,\u201d said Nat Carmack of BOS Security, which screens passengers at Tupelo Regional Airport in Mississippi. \u201cOur employees have never missed a paycheck during any of the government shutdowns.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Carmack said while employees are getting paid, the company will have to cover the expense while it waits for the government to reopen and pay its bills.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cAs a small business, it\u2019s a burden, but we cover those payrolls until the government reopens and processes our invoices,\u201d Carmack said.\n <\/p>\n \n All private airport security operations remain under federal oversight<\/a> and must comply with the same rules TSA agents follow. The companies do get to decide how many people to hire and what to pay them.\n <\/p>\n \n Keith Jeffries is the former TSA federal security director at Los Angeles International Airport and current vice president of K2 Security Screening Group. He said airports always have the choice to use private companies for screening, but what happens at the checkpoint stays the same, no matter who is operating it.\n <\/p>\n \n The security screeners with private companies \u201creceive the same type of training as TSA,\u201d Jeffries said.\n <\/p>\n \n Airports experiencing problems with TSA staff not showing up during this current shutdown can\u2019t simply call a contractor and bring in private employees within a few days.\n <\/p>\n \n For an airport to implement private screening, it must first get permission from TSA. If approved, a contract could be issued within a year. TSA would select the company that could take over within six months, according to BOS Security<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n The transition and application process might bar larger airports to opt in, as they might have a \u201cif it ain\u2019t broke, don\u2019t fix it\u201d attitude, Jeffries said.\n <\/p>\n \n BOS Security points to studies it says show private contractors do a better job at stopping contraband, are more cost-effective and have higher employee satisfaction.\n <\/p>\n