It's Official: The TSA Sells out

[barondave]

It was bad enough when United Air Lines started selling commercial space on air sickness bags or when a Pennsylvania company s doing a roaring trade selling items confiscated at security checkpoints.

But now, the Transportation Security Administration itself is bravely fighting terrorism by selling ads on x-ray bins and tables (requires salon.com membership).

[I]t was recently announced that starting in February, the TSA will begin selling commercial advertisements at concourse checkpoints. As part of a one-year pilot program to help defer operating expenses, those bins and tables at the X-ray machine will be sprouting corporate logos. Airports will recruit companies willing to provide screening stations with so-called divestiture bins and composure tables in exchange for ad space.

Coming to an Airport Checkpoint Near You: Ads In The Security Bins.

Advertising companies and airports could reap millions from 12-inch-by-17-inch ads glued to the bottom of security bins. The TSA would benefit, too, from free equipment: The agency is requiring any company that sells the ads to stock airport checkpoints with new bins, carts and stainless steel tables.

“It creates a cleaner, smoother, more professional process,” says TSA spokeswoman Ellen Howe.

I feel so much safer now.