November 2, 2025 — In July of this year, the TSA issued an RFP seeking private sector solutions to improve safety, security and passenger experience at our airports. I welcome the idea.

Many of us who fly frequently avoid some of the TSA hassle by paying for Pre-Check and Clear to avoid not only the lines, but much of their tedious processes. We sign up for Global Entry to avoid long customs lines when we come back from international travel, and we even give up any vestige of privacy today by allowing TSA to use biometrics, optics, and other invasive efficiency methods.

There are exceedingly long lines at airports. TSA staff frequently doesn’t seem to understand what is on the screen in front of them. I have seen many “professional” travelers (admittingly myself) express impolite comments to TSA staff as the backpack that has gone untouched on thirty flights for some reason needs to be emptied on the thirty-first. Consistency is not something TSA is known for.

Frequent travelers have developed tricks to make it less stressful. For example, wearing a belt with a metal buckle is a rookie mistake. I’ve learned to pack my belt in my carry-on and instead wear suspenders with plastic elements when I need to fly. Privatizing TSA makes a lot of sense, even if the requirements and wording included in TSA’s RFP for privatization are a perfect example of why the government does not do many things well.

Early in the Trump administration we learned that the current U.S. air traffic control system uses computer hardware, software, and methods of communication that predate the birth of many of the personnel employed to operate the system. While the rest of the world marvels and debates the potential impact of AI on our society, our airspace is still being managed on machines that, at their creation, allowed air traffic personnel to play the latest version of Pong during their breaks. Parts and floppy disks are unavailable, and the current system has to scavenge for replacement parts from computer graveyards – like auto mechanics trying to keep a 1957 Buick on the road in Cuba. Labor is working ten-hour shifts, often six days a week, because the government seems unable to recruit, train, and retain what is needed to make the system work well.

There are few things government can do well – and air traffic control is not one of them. Even with an enviable safety record (laced with inefficiencies, labor shortages, cost overruns, and an increasing number of near misses on the ground and in the air) it’s time for us to consider moving air traffic control into the private sector. What we have gone through this past month with the government shutdown, and the amplified impact if the shutdown continues, requires us to consider alternative solutions. One solution to consider is the privatization of air traffic control by establishing a franchise system owned and managed by the airline industry.

Franchising is a performance-based method in which standards are established, franchisees have incentives to meet those standards, and the scale of the system allows for replication of support and supply that makes it economically efficient at the system and local level. When structured and managed properly, franchising can deliver a “consistent, sustainable and replicable^(sm)” consumer experience. We have countless examples of successful commercial and social franchises.

As with any franchise system, including those in industries that require licensed professionals, the government would still have its rightful role in establishing minimum safety and other standards for privatized air traffic control. However, those that know air travel the best – the airlines, manufacturers and suppliers – have the greatest stake in keep the system effective, cost-efficient, and safe. Considering the potential benefits, examining the creation of a franchised air traffic control system just makes sense. It’s time to consider whether privatization, including the use of franchising’s technology, is not a better solution than what we have today.

By Michael Seid, Managing Director, MSA Worldwide