Issues: Airport Security

Safe and secure air travel is the expectation of every passenger traveling through any of the more than 5,000 commercial airports in the United States, and it is critical that airports are able to update security strategies in response to evolving threats.

SIA Position:

SIA supports increasing the federal cap on the locally set passenger facility charges, unchanged since 2000, to offset the impacts of inflation. Funding for many safety and security enhancements has come from airport user fees, which are locally raised and spent but require federal authorization.

Legislative Updates:

FAA Reauthorization: What You Need to Know

On Oct. 5, 2018, President Trump signed into law a bill reauthorizing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) programs and setting other federal aviation-related policies for the next five years, following a much-anticipated bipartisan House/Senate agreement on the first long-term FAA reauthorization passed since 2012. The measure includes several provisions impacting the security industry specifically, provisions related to the expansion of biometrics and other security technologies, use of Airport Improvement Program grants and new legal authority for using counter-unmanned aircraft systems in support of federal missions.

SIA Position Statements:

Co-Sponsor: Secure Airport Public Spaces Act

SIA supports S. 2869, the Secure Airport Public Spaces Act (Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Cory Gardner, R-Colo.), which will help airports field fully integrated security systems covering all public areas by allowing the use of Airport Improvement Program grant funds to install video surveillance systems outside Transportation Security Administration-screened zones such as baggage claims or pickup and drop-off areas. The bill also encourages the use of infrastructure improvement revenue collected through local passenger facility charges to address airport security needs.