If I remember right, airport security was privately handled prior to 9/11. I forget. How well did that work out?
The simple fact is that unless the people who fail are fired, neither private or government employees are going to do their job.
BTW, there is a strong push to privatize highways. One of their things that the new owner is allowed to do is have a free hand to charge whatever the traffic (no pun intended) will bear. This means “congestion pricing”. There are lots of studies going on right now on how to maximize return with congestion pricing. Forget that you have already paid to build it. If you want to drive on it, get ready to shell out a lot more.
Citizens, Pilots and air crew were, for decades, instructed by the Federal Government to be passive sheep and let the professionals take care of it. The FAA had years of warnings of change in tactics, and did nothing. So airlines like El Al, like SAAB did to cars, used security as a brand identity. If the FAA hadn’t insisted on one, ancient, poorly thought out method, air security would of been different. Anyways the crash in Pennsylvania showed what would of happened with untrained citizens. If citizens didn’t have decades of drilled passivity drummed into them, I am confident that 9/11 would of been different. I agree, firing people and contractors is a good tool. I think congestion takes care of itself. If people want to live in suburbs and all drive into paper shuffling centers, fine. What is the problem? They and their employers have all made their value choice.