The Transportation Security Administration’s new TSA Gold+ security initiative is beginning to take shape. After announcing the public-private partnership earlier this year, the agency has now added three airports to the pilot program (Tampa, Charleston, and Des Moines), offering the clearest look yet at how the next generation of airport security could work.
What is TSA Gold+?
TSA unveiled Gold+ in May as an expansion of its existing Screening Partnership Program (SPP), which currently contracts private companies to conduct passenger screening under TSA oversight at 20 U.S. airports. Unlike the traditional SPP model, Gold+ allows participating airports and contractors to invest in and manage both security personnel and screening technology while still operating under TSA standards.
The key distinction between the existing SPP model and Gold+ is the scope of contractor responsibility. Under SPP, TSA owns and procures screening equipment, while contractors provide the workforce. With Gold+, contractors would manage both the workforce and the technology, according to Homeland Security Today.
Three more airports join TSA Gold+
The TSA is now moving the Gold+ initiative from concept to implementation. According to recent reporting by the Points Guy, Tampa International Airport (TPA), Charleston International Airport (CHS) and Des Moines International Airport (DSM) have been selected to participate in the program, joining the agency’s effort to test a new model for airport security that relies on closer partnerships with private operators.
The agency says the model is intended to help airports modernize checkpoints more quickly while maintaining federal security standards. The addition of three new airports signals that the TSA is moving forward with the program, although the agency has not yet announced when travelers will begin seeing the full range of Gold+ screening technologies at participating airports.
Concerns from labor groups
Some labor groups remain critical of the initiative, arguing that the TSA has not been sufficiently transparent about how the program was developed or how it could affect the federal screening workforce.
Against Giants Labor Advocates, LLC, a Norfolk, Virginia–based consultancy that represents TSA employees, contends that the initiative was never disclosed to the U.S. Congress or TSA’s workforce while the agency’s top officials developed and pitched the program.
“TSA officers worked without pay twice this fiscal year,” Against Giants said in a May 19 post on Facebook. “They showed up anyway. Now they are . . . watching a privatization architecture being built around them that was never disclosed to Congress and was not communicated to them until last week. Against Giants is documenting this not to cast officers as victims, but because the record demands it and the workforce deserves to have it stated plainly.”
The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents TSA officers, has also opposed expanding privatized screening, arguing that security decisions should remain the responsibility of a federal workforce rather than private contractors.
What travelers should know about the TSA Gold+ program
It’s important to note that TSA Gold+ is not an expedited security program like TSA PreCheck or Clear that air travelers can apply for. Instead, it’s a public-private partnership that airports can choose to opt into or not. Airports that opt in will install a tailored security screening service based on their needs and space, with support from the TSA and private vendors—at no additional cost to travelers.
For airports, one of the biggest draws is the ability to modernize security checkpoints more quickly by leveraging private investment and procurement, rather than relying solely on the federal budgeting process. “By enabling direct investment—without waiting on lengthy budget cycles—TSA Gold+ unlocks new revenue streams, empowers local decision-making, and accelerates the deployment of cutting-edge solutions nationwide,” the TSA website states on a page about Gold+.
In an email to Afar, Against Giants cofounder Scott Robinson explained that because airports that opt in will also have the flexibility to use technology and processes adapted to their own facilities, the experience for travelers may vary widely depending on the airport. “Transitioning to frameworks that rely heavily on local or private capital risks creating a split, two-tier security system across the country,” he said. “Passengers at smaller or less funded airports could face drastically different technology baselines and checkpoint efficiency compared to major hubs.”
TSA is also testing other ways to modernize airport screening beyond Gold+. As Afar previously reported, the agency recently launched a remote security screening pilot serving select flights from Boston Logan International Airport, allowing eligible travelers to clear TSA screening at an off-site facility before heading to the airport.
An off-site TSA screening initiative in Boston
In addition to the rollout of TSA Gold+, the agency continues to experiment with other initiatives aimed at making security screening more seamless.
Passengers on select flights out of Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) can now go through a TSA screening outpost in Framingham, Massachusetts—avoiding the hectic security process at Boston Logan altogether. After passengers clear security at the Logan Airport Remote Terminal, shuttle buses will transport them approximately 25 miles to the airport, where they will be dropped off beyond the security checkpoint, streamlining the departure process at BOS.
The service is a pilot program initially only available for passengers on Delta Air Lines and JetBlue flights departing between 5:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. The service, which can be booked up to 90 days in advance, costs $9 and is free for children traveling with a ticketed family member.
