TSA-linked call center opening in the Springs

A small call center that will help the federal Transportation Security Administration with airline passenger security checks will open in Colorado Springs and employ up to 15 people.

The Department of Homeland Security recently awarded a contract of up to $20.3 million to Professional Solutions LLC of Alexandria, Va., which expects to open its Springs call center in the next few months, said Matt McKeon, the company's federal division director. The company, which provides training, analytical and operational support for government agencies, is owned by a disabled veteran and employs about 110 people, according to its Web site.

Professional Solutions will provide support for TSA's Secure Flight program, which is scheduled to debut Jan. 1. The program is designed to shift the screening of passengers, whose names appear on terrorist watch lists, from airline employees to TSA, said Lauren Gaches, an agency spokeswoman. Passenger information collected by airline employees would be funneled to a call center staffed by Professional Solutions employees, who would send it to TSA analysts, McKeon said.

Such passenger screening already takes place, but Secure Flight is designed, in part, to streamline the collection and analysis of information and to decrease the number of passengers who are misidentified as those on a watch list, Gaches said.

The call center is being set up in the Springs because the TSA has an office here, she said. Professional Solutions will operate another call center for the Secure Flight program in Annapolis Junction, Md.

McKeon said while as many as 15 employees could be hired, the exact number will depend on how many are needed to work full- and part-time shifts. Also, the number of employees might vary as passenger traffic picks up around holidays and during other busy flying times of the year, he said.

For more information, visit www.prosol1.com/employment.html.

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