The shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security earlier this year left travelers at airports waiting for hours to get through understaffed security checkpoints. Elected officials are now exploring methods of preventing this from ever happening again at the world's busiest airport. The Atlanta City Council voted 11-1 on Monday in favor of launching a study into privatizing security at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, where over a third of TSA agents walked out during the shutdown. While security privatization would be new for American airports, it raises concerns about corporations directly profiting off of taxpayers for a previously government-run operation.

 

The feasibility study will compare the cost of private security screening with that of its current federal counterpart, including employee pay and benefits. Officials will also evaluate the impact that privatization would have on current TSA employees, especially their job security and the likelihood of being hired by the potential contractor. With Hartsfield-Jackson having a TSA workforce of about 1,200 people, a mass firing wouldn't be well-received by the city. Councilman Byron Amos, the resolution's lead sponsor, told WABE: