TSA Awards Jackson Hole Airport Board Private Screening Contract

WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) today announced selection of the Jackson Hole Airport Board as the private screening contractor for Jackson Hole Airport in Jackson , Wyo. under the Screening Partnership Program (SPP).

TSA awarded the security screening services contract for passenger, checkpoint and checked baggage operations from vendors that submitted proposals and are among the 34 private screening companies identified on TSA's Qualified Vendors List (QVL). The total contract award value, including options, is approximately $21 million. The total period of performance is five years, beginning on March 1, 2006 and ending on September 30, 2010 (ifall options are exercised). Under SPP, the federal security director (FSD) will remain responsible for overseeing TSA security standards and helping to manage contractor performance.

"We look forward to continuing to work with the Jackson Hole Airport Board, which has been providing screening services for the past two-and-a-half years under the SPP pilot program," said Wyoming FSD Gary McCurdy. "TSA will continue to oversee all security operations to ensure that current standards are met."

SPP is designed to meet the requirement for the "opt-out" program established in the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001 (ATSA). Since November 19, 2004 , airport operators have been allowed to apply to TSA to have screening functions performed by qualified private screening contractors through the SPP. In 2002, ATSA required TSA to conduct a contract screening pilot program (known as the "PP5") at five airports to evaluate the performance of private screeners as compared to federal screeners.

Under ATSA, the pilot program ended on November 19, 2004, but TSA issued short bridge contracts to the original PP5 contractors to allow the agency time to develop the rules for application to the SPP, the acquisition process, the QVL, and the Requests For Proposals (RFPs) for the new contracts. All the original PP5 airports [ San Francisco International, Kansas City International (Mo.), Greater Rochester International (N.Y.), Jackson Hole Airport, and Tupelo Airport (Miss.)] and one federalized airport at Sioux Falls, S.D. applied to have qualified contractors perform screening functions. The screening contract for Sioux Falls was awarded in December 2005 . TSA is currently conducting competitive procurements for contracts at Kansas City , Rochester, Tupelo and San Francisco . Qualified companies that are on TSA's QVL are eligible to submit proposals for these contracts.

For more information about TSA, please see the Web site at http://www.TSA.gov.

Media Contact: Carrie Harmon

SOURCE Transportation Security Administration

News stories provided by third parties are not edited by "Site Publication" staff. For suggestions and comments, please click the Contact link at the bottom of this page.