In February 2026, a TSA-branded briefing flyer was discovered at Orlando International Airport (MCO) that outlined a program named GoldPlus, described as a “new public-private partnership aimed at modernizing aviation security at select airports across the country.” This flyer was subsequently shared with a reporter from Federal News Network, leading to the first report on the initiative being published in April. Neither Congress, the union representing 47,000 Transportation Security Officers, nor the general public had been informed about the program’s existence. The TSA had been working on and promoting GoldPlus to vendors and airport executives since at least August 2025.
The initiative allocates nearly $13 billion in federal funding for private companies to assume control of both the screening workforce and technology at participating airports, significantly expanding upon the existing Screening Partnership Program, which currently includes 20 airports utilizing private screeners with TSA-owned equipment. Tampa International Airport (TPA) has already opted into the program, with Charleston International Airport (CHS) and Des Moines International Airport (DSM) expected to follow suit. On August 5, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) filed a lawsuit against the TSA for its refusal to disclose documents related to the program’s development.
The flyer that was found at Orlando International Airport was shared with a Federal News Network reporter in February 2026. It described GoldPlus as “a new public-private partnership aimed at modernizing aviation security at select airports across the country,” indicating that “long-term Screening Partnership Program contracts will redirect funds into investable partnerships where leading industry operators manage both technology and screening workforce.”
Prior to the flyer’s discovery, the TSA had been developing GoldPlus for several months. In August 2025, the agency issued a request for information to vendors regarding “new GoldPlus public-private screening mode acquisitions.” A second request for information concerning third-party testing equipment was released in September 2025, again referencing the concept. On March 26, 2026, two TSA officials presented information about the program at the Airports Council International conference in Chicago. Throughout this seven-month timeframe, the TSA did not formally inform AFGE or the congressional committees overseeing the agency about the program. AFGE’s general counsel, Rushab Sanghvi, remarked to USA Today that the agency was “pushing through this privatization effort sort of in the shadows without much information to the public.”
The discovery of the flyer was, according to AFGE, purely coincidental. A document detailing a multibillion-dollar overhaul of airport security staffing and management across the United States became public because an individual picked up a piece of paper at an airport and forwarded it to a journalist. Federal News Network published its report in April 2026, which has since evolved into a FOIA lawsuit, a union challenge, and a national discussion regarding whether the federal government should transfer airport screening operations to private companies on a scale much larger than what the current Screening Partnership Program encompasses.
The TSA Screening Partnership Program has been in place since 2004, currently covering 20 airports in the United States, most of which are small to mid-sized facilities. The two largest airports by passenger volume are San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Kansas City International Airport (MCI). The remaining 18 are smaller airports, including Atlantic City, Orlando Sanford, Sonoma County, Sioux Falls, and several locations in Montana. At SPP airports, private contractors are responsible for hiring and managing the screening workforce, while the TSA maintains regulatory oversight, establishes all screening procedures, and appoints a federal security director at each site. Passengers passing through security at an SPP airport undergo the same screening process as those at any TSA-staffed checkpoint.
Source: Original article
