Atlanta airport security lines long again amid government shutdown
As Transportation Security Administration officers enter another week of working without pay, the effects of the government shutdown appear to once again be hitting the Atlanta airport’s security wait times.
Main checkpoint wait times started surpassing 40 minutes by about 6 a.m., according to data analysis by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
It’s Day 26 of the federal shutdown. Last Sunday also saw longer wait times than normal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport because of TSA staffing callouts.
TSA said it had a “small hot spot” related to a personnel shortage at Atlanta on Sunday morning, a TSA spokesperson told the AJC. The team is “dealing with it as best they can.”
“This is not what I would consider severe. We’re managing as best we can.”
By the early afternoon, domestic security lines appeared to be back in control, with wait times listed at under 10 minutes at the three checkpoints.
But longer lines returned later Sunday afternoon, with some wait times again reaching more than 40 minutes.
Real-time wait time estimates are available at the airport’s website.
Frequent traveler Anne Williams had just ventured back to Atlanta from Raleigh, North Carolina, and was shocked to find how smooth it was getting through security amid the government shutdown. She said it took about eight minutes.
“I was like, this couldn’t be true. It was such a breeze,” Williams told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as she waited for her luggage at the baggage claim around midday.
A week ago, before heading to Florida, Williams said she spent more than 30 minutes in the security lines at Hartsfield-Jackson. She noted that the lines have been a little longer recently at the Atlanta airport, where a TSA worker mentioned that he expected there to be fewer employees than usual Sunday.
“Clear (the trusted traveler program) is great everywhere else but here (Atlanta), and I have communicated my thoughts in an email,” Williams said. “We’ve lived here a long time, so we love this airport because you can fly anywhere in the world, but it has its issues right now.”
Willie Jones said he wasn’t sure if the government shutdown would impact his travel Sunday. But the Gwinnett County resident said he also made it through security quickly in Austin, Texas, before taking a short flight to Atlanta.
He noted it went better than expected, though his original flight was canceled Saturday afternoon. Several other travelers said they were also pleased with the wait times.
“It was very quick,” Jones told the AJC.
TSA expected Sunday to be a busy travel day, with 2.9 million passenger screenings nationwide. Sunday is one of the highest volume days of the week, with Monday mornings another peak period.
Questions about staffing sent to the AFGE union, which represents Atlanta’s roughly 1,200 TSA officers, were not immediately answered Sunday.
Atlanta’s regional air traffic control staffing situation remained normal as of Sunday morning, Dan McCabe, Southern regional vice president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association union, told the AJC.
But U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in an appearance on Fox News on Sunday warned that air traffic controllers are “wearing thin” as the shutdown continues.
“You can see the stress,” Duffy said. “They’re concerned about child care and mortgages.”
“What I see coming forward as we get to Monday … Tuesday and Wednesday that you’re going to see more staffing shortages in towers, which means you’re going to see more delays, more cancellations,” Duffy said.
About the Authors
As a business reporter, Emma Hurt leads coverage of the Atlanta airport, Delta Air Lines, UPS, Norfolk Southern and other travel and logistics companies. Prior to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution she worked as an editor and Atlanta reporter for Axios, a politics reporter for WABE News and a business reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
