An Atlanta City Council member is exploring a proposal to privatize security screening at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport following record-high TSA officer absences during a six-week federal government shutdown.
The move comes after unpaid TSA employees called in sick in unprecedented numbers, leaving the world's busiest airport struggling to manage security lines that stretched from checkpoints to the opposite end of the terminal.
"Once we witnessed the long lines and the disaster of what has become TSA due to budget constraints, it is our duty, I believe, to find better ways to service our customers," said Atlanta City Councilman Byron Amos.
Amos says he'll introduce a proposal to examine if handing over security screening to a private company could prevent that nightmare from plaguing passengers again. He's calling for an independent firm to conduct a feasibility study on privatization.
"It's just a piece of paper that says come back with a 90-day study of the feasibility," Amos said. "If it's good, if it's bad, what it'll cost, how would we do it if we decide to do it? At least answer some questions."
Several airports around the country, including San Francisco International, already use private screening contractors under TSA oversight through the Screening Partnership Program.
