Amazon Air to take over its own security at CVG, BWI, RFD after TSA exemption

Three Amazon Air hub airports in the U.S. received an exemption from the U.S. Transportation and Security Agency (TSA) that would enable Amazon Air to assume certain security responsibilities at the airports. The move toward Amazon managing some of its own security concerns will accommodate the growth in Amazon Air staffing at the airports in response to e-commerce growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the TSA notice released Monday. [caption id="attachment_95209" align="alignright" width="450"] Aerial image of the Amazon Air facility in development at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG). Photo courtesy of CVG.[/caption] Airport operators of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) and Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD) received the go-ahead from the U.S. Transportation and Security Agency (TSA) to enter into Exclusive Area Agreements (EAA) with Amazon Air. The decision required a temporary exemption from the TSA, which went into effect on July 26, 2021, as the agency’s regulations state that only aircraft operators or foreign air carriers may enter EAAs with airports. Amazon Air, which does not hold its own Air Operator Certificate (AOC), is not classified as an aircraft operator by the TSA. However, the agency “determined it is in the public interest” to grant the authorization “because this action will create operational and economic efficiencies for the airport operators and Amazon Air, to the economic benefit of the public and without detriment to security,” according to the notice. EAAs have been in common use at airports since 1978, with more than 70 currently in place for aircraft operators and foreign air carriers at domestic airports, according to the TSA. Extending the agreement to an entity other than an airline is less usual and does not fall under the current statute, but the TSA cited Amazon Air’s extensive airfreight operations in its note, including Amazon Air’s role as an authorized TSA representative for all-cargo operators at some of the airports where it operates, including CVG, RFD and BWI. Amazon could not be reached for comment ahead of publication. “An EAA basically means the airport tenant is responsible for all the TSA items related to their leasehold, and we accept them as part of our airport security program,” RFD Deputy Director of Operations and Planning Zack Oakley told Air Cargo World . Oakley did not comment on Amazon Air’s EAA specifically but said generally EAAs are “fairly common for large leaseholds at airports across the country,” and that the TSA is still ultimately responsible for providing oversight for security requirements under EAAs.

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