AAAE Urges TSA to Rescind ASP Amendment on Aviation Worker Screening

August 9, 2023

 AAAE's President and CEO Todd Hauptli sent a letter to TSA Administrator David Pekoske urging him to rescind the Airport Security Program (ASP) amendment on aviation worker screening scheduled to go into effect on September 25. If TSA is unwilling to rescind the amendment, AAAE asks TSA to delay its implementation for not less than one year.

The letter reiterates the significant concerns that AAAE and our airport members have raised over the years about the ability to operationalize in an exceedingly brief time what amounts to a wholesale shift in the approach and responsibility for screening airport workers. Specifically, Hauptli states that the "The National Amendment places an undue burden on airport operators to assume screening responsibilities that have previously been the exclusive domain of TSA in an unreasonable and arbitrary timeline without conducting a thorough cost-benefit analysis or risk assessment to justify the change. TSA should be responsible for screening people and their property, including employees, not airports."

Further, the letter expresses concern about the final amendment's requirement for airport operators to purchase and use explosive detection screening (EDS) equipment to screen employees within three years. This is a fundamental shift in screening responsibilities, from TSA to airports. AAAE urges TSA to rescind the EDS requirement for airports as well.

The letter highlights that the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have outlined similar concerns in report language accompanying their respective committee-approved versions of the Fiscal Year 2024 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act. Notably, both chambers direct TSA to delay implementation of the amendment until its implications are better understood. 

Hauptli concludes the letter by stating "Given the continued concerns expressed by the airport community and key committees in Congress, we ask you to rescind the National Amendment. Short of rescinding the amendment, we ask you to delay its implementation by not less than one year for the reasons outlined in the letter and to ensure that aviation worker screening can be conducted by the proper entity in the most effective and cost-efficient manner."

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