Trump proposes privatizing US airport security operations

President Donald Trump on Friday proposed to begin the process of privatizing airport security operations handled by the Transportation Security Administration, the federal agency created after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

The White House budget proposes cutting the TSA budget by $52 million and would require small airports to enroll in a program in which TSA pays for private screeners. TSA has about 50,000 federal employees who handle screening at nearly all U.S. airports.

Budget documents said that airports currently using the program have demonstrated savingscompared to federal screening operations.

In recent weeks major U.S. airports suffered massive disruptions after Transportation Security Administration security officers went unpaid since mid-February after funding for the workers was halted in a budget dispute.

-Reporting by David Shepardson/Reuters