Featured Map for 9 January 2019:
TSA Screening Partnership Program (SPP) Airports

The partial shutdown of the United States Government due to the impasse over the federal budget, now entering its third week, is beginning to impact travelers as TSA agents are increasingly calling in sick. Approximately 10,000 TSA agents and 51,000 FAA air traffic controllers are deemed essential and have been told to continue working but will miss their first paycheck on Friday if the shutdown has not been resolved by then. (Once the budget shutdown has been resolved they will be compensated for any missed pay.)

Meanwhile, 22 airports participate in the Screening Partnership Program (SPP), which allows airports to contract security screening services to private companies. The busiest of these airports, San Francisco International Airport, reports that their security screeners, employees of Covenant Aviation Security, are being paid. The same is likely true at the other SPP airports since their screeners are not federal employees.

Today's Featured Map shows the 22 airports that use contract security screening services in lieu of TSA:

• blue: Passengers First (Trinity Technology Group) serves half of the SPP airports, eight in Montana (BZN, GDV, FCA, HVR, OLF, SDY, GGW, WYS), two in Florida (SFB, SRQ), and one in California (STS)
• green: BOS Security serves three airports in the middle of the country (ROW, FSD, TUP)
• orange: VMD Systems serves three airports in the northeast (ACY, ROC, PSM)
• red: five other airports use other security-screening services (JAC, MCI, EYW, PGD, SFO)

References and additional information:

• Government shutdown starting to impact air travel – CBS News (8 January 2019)
• Will the government shutdown affect your next flight? – The Washington Post (8 January 2019)
• Screening Partnership Program – Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
  • Passengers First (Trinity Technology Group)
  • BOS Security
  • VMD Systems
  • Aviation Security Management
  • AKAL Security
  • Covenant Aviation Security (CAS)
  • ISS Action