JetBlue hires firm to lobby on private airport screening

JetBlue Airways Corporation has hired a firm to lobby on airport screening privatization issues as more airports consider privatizing their security operations in the wake of massive wait times and failed security tests. 

{mosads}Van Scoyoc Associates is now lobbying on behalf of JetBlue regarding the “Transportation Security Administration’s Screening Partnership Program issues,” according to disclosure forms filed this week.

JetBlue has shelled out $600,000 on lobbying efforts so far this year, while it spent $2 million in 2015, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Neither the airline company nor Van Scoyoc Associates responded to requests for comment.

TSA’s Screening Partnership Program (SPP) allows airports to employ private security companies to conduct screening operations according to TSA standards, as long as the approval of a contract doesn’t compromise security or negatively impact cost-efficiency.

Only 22 of 450 commercial airports have been awarded private contracts under the program thus far.

A Government Accountability Office report in November 2015 found the TSA was not adequately estimating the costs associated with private screening compared to federal screening.

“Although TSA has no standing requirement to report this information, doing so … can better position policy makers to assess and understand the effectiveness of the SPP program and its effects on federal costs,” the report says.

The TSA has been plagued by a number of high-profile security lapses, including a scathing report last year that found its screeners failed to detect fake bombs and weapons in 67 out of 70 tests. Most recently, the agency has come under fire for cutting back its staff, leading to overwhelmed security lines and three-hour wait times at some airports.

Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.), who encouraged the TSA to enlist the help of more private screeners to alleviate congested airports, wrote a letter to the agency last week seeking more information about any potential hurdles to participating in the screening partnership program.

“As Americans face wait times in excess of 90 minutes just to board their planes, expanding and reforming the TSA’s screening partnership program offers a potential remedy to this travel nightmare,” Black wrote.