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Not All Airport Security Lanes Are TSA — Here's Why

You step up to the checkpoint at San Francisco International, scan your boarding pass, and hand your ID to a screener in a navy uniform — but that officer is not a TSA employee. They work for a private contractor, and they've been screening passengers at SFO for years under a federal program most travelers have never heard of.

Twenty U.S. airports currently use private security companies instead of federal Transportation Security Administration officers, operating under the Screening Partnership Program (SPP) — an opt-out arrangement that has existed since the TSA was created in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. The program's largest participants are San Francisco International and Kansas City International, but SPP airports span a wide range, from Sarasota, Fla., and Atlantic City, N.J., to Tupelo, Miss., and Yellowstone, Montana, according to NPR's reporting published Sunday.

Private contractors at these airports include firms such as Covenant Aviation Security, VMD Systems Integrators, FirstLine Transportation Security, and Securitas-Trinity Security Services, according to an analysis of SPP contracts. That same analysis identified at least 27 companies holding SPP contracts as of early 2026. The contractors operate under TSA oversight and must follow all federal security procedures — meaning the screening process itself is standardized regardless of whether the officer is a federal employee or a private hire.

The SPP's footprint may grow substantially. The TSA's fiscal year 2027 budget request proposes expanding the program to approximately 250 of the smallest commercial airports in the country — more than ten times the current participation, according to Federal News Network. A separate initiative called TSA Gold+ would go further, shifting equipment management and technology procurement to private partners rather than keeping those responsibilities with the agency. Acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill has said a legislative proposal is currently being developed. Critics inside the federal workforce, including Johnny Jones of the American Federation of Government Employees TSA Council 100, have warned against full-scale privatization.

What this means for remote workers and nomads

For people who fly constantly, the checkpoint is the most repeated friction point of the travel cycle. The SPP detail matters in a specific, practical way: if a line at SFO or Kansas City moves faster or slower than you expect, the staffing model may be a contributing factor — but the federal security procedures are identical regardless of who supplies the workforce, and that distinction is worth knowing before you assume something has gone wrong.

What reviewing the 2026 expansion proposals makes clear is that the divide between federal and private screening is about to widen, not narrow. If Gold+ and the 2027 budget expansion proceed, a frequent flyer cycling through smaller regional airports will increasingly encounter private screeners without knowing it. Understanding that SPP airports exist removes one variable from the mental load of frequent travel. The list of airports in the program is public, and checking it before a new routing takes seconds.