US airlines oppose Trump plan to require small airports to use private security

A group representing major U.S. airlines opposes a White House proposal to require smaller airports to use private security screeners instead of the Transportation Security Administration, according to written testimony seen by Reuters.



Airlines for America CEO Chris Sununu will tell a U.S. House of Representatives committee on Wednesday that ensuring that private security "remains an option for airports and does not become a mandatory program is paramount to the U.S. aviation industry."



President Donald Trump last month proposed cutting more than 9,400 workers and just over $1.5 billion from the annual budget of the 60,000-employee TSA that handles airport security operations.



The proposal is a first step toward privatizing the agency created after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Some Republican lawmakers have proposed to privatize TSA completely.



The White House said the mandatory change to private security at small airports would cut the TSA payroll by more than 4,500 jobs. The TSA proposes to cut another 4,800 jobs by improving efficiency, ending staffing at exit lanes and eliminating redundancies.