Is Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International the next airport to privatize security?
The Atlanta City Council unanimously supported on Monday, May 18, a resolution to study the potential of privatizing security screening at Hartsfield-Jackson. If the Department of Aviation agrees to study a private screening model under the TSA Screening Partnership Program (SPP), it will be conducted by an independent third-party consultant.
SPP contracts security screening services at commercial airports to qualified private companies, according to the TSA website.
This move comes after travelers waited in hours-long lines at Hartsfield-Jackson due to a partial government shutdown, TSA agents calling out of work, and ICE agents being deployed into the airport in March.
About 20 airports across the country participate in the TSA’s SPP including San Francisco International (SFO) in California and Kansas City International (MCI) in Missouri.
Council member Byron Amos, who formerly worked on the security team at Hartsfield-Jackson, proposed the resolution. He said elected leaders should be asking: How can we make things better for airport customers?
“I have seen backed up lines and long lines over the several couple of years, we have seen governmental shutdowns that directly affected our TSA agents being able to work. All of that matters, but what matters to me is that 70 or 50 year old person standing in a line that stretches throughout the atrium outside, and only thing we can offer them is: ‘TSA is not at work,'” Amos said.
There is “no perfect time” for the study because of the upcoming World Cup and preparation for the SuperBowl, Amos said.
In other news:
A rezoning request to build an apartment building for homeless senior citizens in Kirkwood passed the Atlanta City Council under its consent agenda. There was no discussion by council members or public comment. The 0.66-acre property located at the corner of Howard and Hallman streets is being rezoned from single family housing to planned development housing.
Dozens of supporters showed up to speak in favor of Beltline rail, a direct reaction to Council member Mary Norwood’s proposal to pave a second trail on the Beltline for bicycles, e-bikes, and scooters.
“The legislation to pave a separated bike path in the transit lane would be an enormous mistake. Not only would it be wasteful to pave it and then rip it up later, but Atlanta is not known for temporary fixtures being anything other than permanent,” an Atlanta resident said.
