In the months leading up to the Atlanta mayoral election last year, most of the candidates called for a moratorium on airport concessions contracts that then-Mayor Kasim Reed's administration was pushing to award before his term ended.
At the time, some people were questioning why the Reed administration was rushing to finalize a massive round of deals for more than 80 new airport shops when the current contracts didn't expire until September 2018.
The issue arose amid a federal investigation into a scandal at City Hall that ensnared contractors and the city's former chief procurement officer.
While September 2018 seemed far off last year, the proposed contracts for new airport shops have now languished for more than a year.
The federal investigation into City Hall continues. The current contracts have reached their expiration date, though the city can extend contracts once for 90 days when determined to be in the best interests of the city.
Also delayed for more than a year are contracts for new restaurants on Concourse E. As the new Concourse E contracts have been delayed, incumbent concessionaires have benefited by getting multiple contract extensions.
With the airport concessions contracts delayed for more than a year, "There are a lot of us who think they should be thrown out," said Andre Dickens, chair of the city council transportation committee, which oversees the airport. "My thoughts are that we should throw those out, rebid them."
Dickens said he thinks the procurement processes should be canceled because of "just public trust," and because the cost of goods and construction has changed since companies submitted proposals more than a year ago.
“The posture of the administration is moving in that direction,” Dickens said.
For new Hartsfield-Jackson general manager John Selden, it’s a priority task.
“Obviously I’m getting my feet wet with this issue,” said Selden, who was confirmed by city council as airport manager last week. He said he is working with the city’s chief procurement officer and “I would hope in the next two to three weeks” will decide whether to start the contracting over again.
Approving and opening new airport shops can take several months, so no matter what they decide, airport officials may still seek month-to-month extensions of existing concessionaires’ contracts that have expired.
While many of the airport concessions contracts have been in a lengthy holding pattern, one contract for a food court on Concourse C recently moved forward.
The process of building out the space started about a month ago, according to airport officials. The contracting process for the Concourse C food court originally started in 2015, and it could still be six to nine months to complete the construction for the food court to open.
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