SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Fear of lawsuits has led officials at San Francisco International Airport to stop using a private company to handle checkpoint security.
Officials said they will withdraw from a federal pilot project of privatization in May because the Transportation Security Administration would not protect it from lawsuits that might arise from a terrorist incident.
San Francisco was considered the model for how private companies can operate with better flexibility, USA Today reported. Since November 2002, San Francisco's 1,120 screeners have been hired, trained, scheduled and paid by Covenant Aviation Security under a $79 million contract with the TSA, which dictates screener training, security procedures and minimum salaries.
The four other airports in the 3-year-old pilot program have expressed no concern about liability and plan to continue using private companies, the report said. They are in Kansas City, Mo.; Rochester, N.Y.; Tupelo, Miss.; and Jackson Hole, Wyo.
