Overview
- TSA announced in its Horizon 25 plan on Aug. 24 that it has ended the short-lived Gold+ pilot and will replace it with an “evolved Screening Partnership Program” to reshape how private firms take part in checkpoint work.
- Tampa International Airport, which tested Gold+, said it completed a months-long review of security, workforce, technology, financial, and legal issues and will keep federal TSA officers for screening.
- Gold+ had been designed to let contractors supply screening staff, checkpoint technology, and maintenance under federal oversight rather than to create a paid passenger perk like TSA PreCheck.
- Orlando International Airport was not identified as a Gold+ site and TSA has not said the program change will alter passenger screening, cause new delays, or affect MCO operations right now.
- Horizon 25 pairs the evolved partnership model with upgrades to TSA PreCheck, faster technology procurement, passenger experience goals, and counter‑drone work, but TSA has not released how the new SPP will operate at specific airports or when changes will roll out.