Hartsfield-Jackson International plans to screen nearly all employees who enter secured areas by the end of this year, said airport manager Miguel Southwell.
The world’s busiest airport is building a new three-lane screening checkpoint for employees on a mezzanine level in the domestic terminal, visible as passengers ride the escalator up to the terminal from the Plane Train people-mover tunnel.
That checkpoint will be used by workers other than employees of Delta Air Lines, which will handle its own employee screening at its employee shuttle parking lots, Southwell said at an Atlanta city council briefing.
The Atlanta airport already spends about $82 million annually on safety, security, fire and police, and is adding about $4.5 million to its budget for the additional security screening. Southwell also plans to explore possibilities for federal funding. He expects recurring costs for employee security screening to be $4 million to $4.5 million annually.
The move comes after a gun smuggling operation involving a baggage handler at Hartsfield-Jackson was uncovered late last year.
“The bad publicity is really hurting us,” Southwell said.
He said about 40,000 employees at Hartsfield-Jackson work in secure areas. Some employees will be exempted from the screening, such as emergency responders, law enforcement and pilots and flight attendants who are part of TSA’s crewmember program.
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