On Sunday, March 22, passengers at Atlanta’s airport waited in line for five hours or more to get through security.
But in Orlando, Florida — just a few hours south — the security lines averaged about 30 minutes or less.
How could passengers at two major airports have such dramatically different experiences? Simple: The Orlando airport has effectively privatized security screenings, while Atlanta uses government employees who work for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). As airports nationwide struggle with hours-long TSA lines amid the current government shutdown, the Trump administration should push for privatization nationwide.
The mess in Atlanta isn’t unique. At airports across the country, insane TSA lines have been causing missed flights and canceled routes. TSA screeners aren’t showing up for work because they can’t get paid until Congress funds the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). But Democrats refuse to do that unless the Trump administration agrees to dramatic changes in its immigration enforcement policies. The Democrats’ calculus is that enough public suffering will force President Donald Trump to agree to their demands.
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But Orlando’s airport shows that passengers need not suffer at all.
The airport is one of 20 that has opted into the TSA’s “Screening Partnership Program.” Some of the others include San Francisco’s major airport and the airport in Kansas City. Essentially, these transit hubs contract with private companies that run the security process. The companies operate under federal oversight and comply with all TSA rules, so they keep flyers completely safe. But because they aren’t government-run, they also keep the lines moving and keep customers happy.
Rarely is the contrast between businesses and bureaucracies so stark. One gets the job done even during a time of major disruption. The other is widely hated even in normal times. The private companies have more flexibility and also more pressure to deliver results. They answer to shareholders and owners, and if they don’t do a good job, an airport might replace them.
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But the TSA doesn’t really answer to anyone. While it’s taxpayer-funded, taxpayers exert precisely zero control over its operations. The TSA also has zero competition. There’s no second government agency that can do its job. When it fails at its basic responsibilities, nothing happens. For bureaucracies, it’s always business as usual, even if that’s objectively awful.
Why aren’t more airports taking the obviously superior private route? Right now, airport operators have to choose to join the Screening Partnership Program. That’s where the Trump administration should act. It should issue new rules that make the private program the default option, if not the only option. Airports shouldn’t be allowed to avoid privatization.
Will nationwide privatization end the current crisis? Probably not. It would likely take months, if not longer, to scale private security services at every major airport in the country. But that means the Trump administration should push for change sooner rather than later. Starting the process now means it could be finished before the year is out.
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This surely won’t be the last time that self-serving politicians hold travelers hostage in their attempt to extract concessions. If airport security were privatized at every airport, politicians would have much less ability to hurt families trying to make their flight. That’s a good thing no matter which party holds power in D.C.
But it’s even better to acclimate Americans to privatization. The federal government already tries to do too much, and with rare exceptions, it does things poorly. Everyone knows it, even those who want D.C. to do even more. Instead of growing a government that just doesn’t work, we should empower private companies that have to compete and get results.
It’s not just airport security. Air traffic control would also benefit from privatization, making air travel safer thanks to technology upgrades. And imagine if we let businesses take a bigger role in welfare programs, workforce training and other government initiatives that routinely fall short. Maybe then we could actually help vulnerable Americans climb the ladder of opportunity, instead of the current system that too often cuts off the bottom rung.
No doubt, government’s defenders will cry foul at even the mention of such reform. Privatization is public enemy No. 1 for the government-first crowd. But ask the passengers who just missed their flight in Atlanta how that’s working out. Then ask the passengers who went through Orlando and are now relaxing next to the pool.
