The US private sector could be allowed to oversee parts of the airport passenger and baggage screening under a plan being drafted by Rep. John Mica of Florida, chairman of the House of Representatives aviation subcommittee.
The plan could remove the government from the management of the screening. The Republican representative is reportedly a long-time opponent of the federal screening system, which employs about 45,000 people at more than 400 airports, Reuters reported. Screening at US airports was taken over by the Homeland Security Department's Transportation Security Administration after the 2001 terrorist attacks.
A spokesman for Mica said that the aim is to get the federal government removed from the day-to-day management and scheduling, while retaining regulators for setting standards and overseeing it.
