Tampa, Charleston airports to join new TSA privatized security initiative
The new Gold+ initiative would allow private contractors to handle passenger screening at three airports while the TSA retains federal oversight.
Updated on: July 23, 2026 / 5:11 PM EDT / CBS News
The Tampa, Charleston and Des Moines airports have signed on to a new program to privatize airport security, the Transportation Security Administration told CBS News.
Under the new initiative, called TSA Gold+, TSA would maintain oversight of security standards and operations but would use private contractors for screening instead of federal workers.
Gold+ is an expansion of the Screening Partnership Program (SPP), which similarly allows airports to hire private contractors to conduct security screening under federal oversight. Launched in 2004 by the TSA, the program operates at 20 airports across the U.S., including San Francisco International Airport and Kansas City International Airport.
"The new TSA Gold+ program mostly expands on what those contractors are allowed to manage, including the actual screening technology," said Julian Kheel, founder of travel rewards site Points Path.
In an email seen by CBS News from the TSA to the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), a union that represents airport employees, the agency listed January 2027 as the projected launch period for Gold+ at the Des Moines airport, February 2027 for Charleston and May 2027 for Tampa.