By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, Sept 29 (Reuters) – US Transportation Security Administration officers will no longer be able to sit while checking IDs at US airport checkpoints, the agency and a major union said Tuesday.
TSA is removing chairs from checkpoints, said the American Federation of Government Employees TSA Council 100, which represents workers and criticized the move as a “disregard for workers’ rights and safety” and added the chairs “serve as basic ergonomic and safety support for officers that stand and walk on hard surfaces all day.”
TSA confirmed the decision, saying: “This welcome change reinforces both our security posture and our commitment to hospitality by having these officers on their feet and alert. All officers must meet fitness for duty requirements to be capable of performing their vital national security function.”
President Donald Trump proposed in April cutting more than 9,400 workers and just over $1.5 billion, or about 20%, from the annual budget of the 60,000-employee TSA that handles airport security operations.
Trump also proposed requiring smaller airports to use private security, a move that would cut the TSA payroll by more than 4,500 jobs in a first step toward privatizing the agency created after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
About 20 airports, including those in San Francisco, Kansas City and Sarasota, Florida, have used private security screeners for years.
The US Senate in August voted to confirm David Cummins, a senior vice president of Serco, a UK-headquartered multinational that runs public services for governments, to head the TSA.
Trump fired TSA head David Pekoske on the president’s first day in office in 2025 and did not nominate a replacement for 16 months.
A lengthy government shutdown this spring forced 50,000 TSA workers to go without pay for six weeks, resulting in major disruptions, including airport security waits extending four hours or more.
CNN reported the change in security procedures earlier on Tuesday.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Lincoln Feast.)
