TSA outlines Horizon 25 screening strategy ahead of 25th anniversary

The Transportation Security Administration has presented a new airport screening plan, Horizon 25, as the agency nears its 25th anniversary. Administrator David Cummins laid out the strategy in late August.

It rests on three aims: updating checkpoints, improving how travellers move through them, and strengthening security across connecting modes of transport. Cummins said the plan is meant to keep the agency performing well over the long term.

Work on several fronts is to begin in September, when Cummins said he will gather staff seen as innovators from both field offices and headquarters. The initiatives include changes to TSA PreCheck, smoother passenger journeys, a faster route to buying new equipment, and wider ability to counter threats from unmanned aircraft.

The agency said the strategy will speed up partnerships with private industry to spread modernisation. A revised Screening Partnership Program will take the place of TSA Gold+, which the agency said should give the private sector a larger role in running a safer and more efficient aviation system.

Cummins said the agency can pursue security, efficiency and a better passenger experience at the same time rather than trading one against another, and that Horizon 25 is intended to deliver on all three.

Separately, VMD Corp has won a five-year contract to carry out passenger and baggage screening at San Francisco International Airport.