Atlanta City Council considers privatizing TSA screenings @ Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport

ATLANTA — The Atlanta City Council on Monday (May 18) approved a resolution 11-1 for a feasibility study to evaluate whether security screening operations should be privatized at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.  

As the world’s busiest airport, Hartsfield processes an estimated 100 million travelers annually through security screenings, city officials say. The critical role of  employees at the Transportation Security Administration  has been on full display as 34-36 percent of metro Atlanta’s staff members stopped reporting to work after going without pay for several weeks during a federal funding lapse from February-March 2026. 

Hartsfield, like many other airports around the nation, experienced backups of long lines of travelers, multi-hour wait times and canceled flights due to the TSA staffing  shortages. During the funding crisis, President Trump ordered ICE agents to keep order at airports around the country, including Hartsfield Atlanta. 

City Council member Byron D. Amos introduced the resolution calling for a feasibility study, stressing he  wanted to see whether the city can better serve “grandmothers standing in line all day long because our federal government can’t get their act together to keep our TSA workers employed.”  

Council member Kelsey Bond cast the only no vote against the resolution, citing concerns about the privatization of public-sector jobs. Bond said she believes the city should protect the public sector and union employees at the TSA.  

The council’s action paves the way for the Department of Transportation to commission a comprehensive study within 90 days by a third-party. City officials say it is imperative that a comprehensive study is conducted since thousands of metro-Atlanta TSA workers would be impacted. Hartsfield’s TSA operational costs are estimated at between $140 million and $240 million annually, the city’s resolution states.

Also, Hartsfield is a TSA Category X airport—the highest risk tier in the nation. No Category X airport has ever transitioned from a federal to private screening under the TSA Screening Partnership Program (“SPP”).

The TSA Screening Partnership Program (“SPP”), established under the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001, allows airports to apply to use private screening contractors, subject to TSA oversight and federal security standards.

The findings from the study will be presented to the City Council to determine whether to apply for the federal program.  

Approximately 20 to 22 airports, including San Francisco International Airport, Kansas City International Airport, and Orlando Sanford International Airport, currently participate in SPP.

To view the Cty of Atlanta’s resolution, click: (26-R-3429).