TSA Tests Private Screening and Remote Checkpoints at Select Airports

The Transportation Security Administration is testing two initiatives designed to reduce airport security delays after staffing shortages during recent government shutdowns. One program, called TSA Gold+, would expand the Screening Partnership Program to more airports by shifting screening duties and equipment to private contractors whose funding does not depend on congressional appropriations.

Passengers then board a Landline bus for the trip to the airport, where they are dropped off at their gates.

During two government shutdowns in late 2025 and early 2026, many federal TSA officers worked without pay. Staffing shortages led to long security lines at some airports, while privately operated checkpoints at 20 airports experienced fewer disruptions. The TSA currently employs about 50,000 security officers who start at roughly $40,000 per year, with average pay ranging from $60,000 to $75,000.

m. m. can use the service. The bus ride costs $9 for adults and is free for children 17 and under. Passengers keep carry-on items with them while checked bags travel in the bus storage compartment. TSA officers still perform the actual screening at the remote site.

Landline maintains security on the bus during the trip, which can last from 20 minutes to more than an hour depending on traffic. Sheldon Jacobson, a computer science professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who helped develop TSA PreCheck, said privatization can work if standards and training for private employees remain rigorous.

The TSA stated that the program will include multi-layered screening of passengers. Jacobson noted that factors outside TSA control, such as a bus accident or passenger illness during the trip, could require rescreening and cause missed flights.