US airfreight forwarders have warned that privatisation of certain Transportation Security Administration (TSA) functions could undermine aviation safety frameworks.
Speaking at the CNS Partnership Conference, Airforwarders Association (AfA) executive director Brandon Fried said that moves to cut and privatise elements of the TSA risked undermining aviation security frameworks established after September 11 2001.
Under Trump administration’s proposals, passenger screening at smaller airports would be privatised as part of efforts to reduce TSA funding.
“The lessons of September 11 are clear, and the stakes are too high for failure,” said Fried. “Any move to weaken federal oversight of passenger screening risks reintroducing vulnerabilities the system was designed to eliminate.”
The Association called on policymakers to reject the proposals and instead maintain and strengthen TSA authority to ensure consistent, nationwide aviation security standards.
Fried pointed out that cargo security programmes, such as the Known Shipper programme, Certified Cargo Screening Programme and Air Cargo Advance Screening (ACAS), are based on public-private partnership but importantly maintain TSA and Customs and Border Protection oversight.
The cargo screening programmes allow certified operators to screen cargo before it reaches airports and submit advance data before departure, while TSA, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and industry maintain national standards and accountability.
“The air cargo industry has shown that public-private partnerships can work, but only when there is strong federal oversight setting the standards and enforcing compliance,” added Fried.
“Applying this model to passenger screening without strict TSA oversight would significantly increase risk.”
The AfA said this model should not be used to justify passenger screening privatization, where fragmented procurement and contracts driven by cost were among the weaknesses federalisation was designed to address when the TSA was created following the September 11 attacks.
