The Transportation Security Administration is considering eliminating passenger screening at more than 150 small and medium-sized airports across the US, according to senior agency officials and internal documents obtained by CNN.
The proposal, if implemented, would mark a major change for air travel in the US, following nearly two decades of TSA presence since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
According to Meadows Field, they have not been contacted by the TSA yet and have not confirmed whether they are one of the airports that would be included. The CNN article which brought this to attention said that airports with 60 passenger or smaller planes is the cutoff. Planes at Meadows have 61+ passengers which suggests that they may not be included.
According to CNN, the internal documents from June and July suggest the move could save $115 million annually, money that could be used to bolster security at larger airports.
CNN continued, stating that according to the proposal, passengers and luggage arriving from these smaller airports would be screened as they arrive to the major airports. The high-volume airports have greater capacities and more advanced security measures than smaller locations, the documents obtained by CNN said.
