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Senator Roy Blunt says that he is still pushing to give airports the option to use privately contracted security screeners. KSMU’s Mike Donnelly reports.
In a conference call to reporters, Blunt called airports like the Springfield-Branson National Airport a model of sorts for measuring TSA screener performance.“The local airport is the best place to judge whether or not that part of their operation is all it should be, and we’re talking now about how we move forward to where there’s still an option for all airports, including the Springfield Missouri airport, to have a local screener,” he said.
Gary Cyr, current director of aviation at Springfield-Branson National Airport, says that the Blunt’s stance on the issue is something that the airport agrees with. However, currently they are still waiting for an answer from the Transportation Security Administration as to when they can make the switch from TSA screeners to private contractors.
“I’ve not had a definitive answer as to why they’re going in and re-looking at the program it looks like here now. You can still make application for this, but they’re in the process of re-doing the application format. So it will be awhile before we get the new format in which to re-apply for the screening partnership program,” he said.
Blunt recently introduced an amendment to the FAA Reauthorization Bill that will lift the cap on the number of airports nationwide that can choose to use private contractors for TSA screening.
Currently there are only 16 airports nationwide that use private contractors, which includes one in Kansas City.
For KSMU News, I’m Mike Donnelly
