Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport has been allowed to issue badges for secure areas of the airport to some new employees before the full federal security threat clearance is granted, federal officials said.
According to a memo from the airport to airlines, airport tenants, contractors and others, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration issued "regulatory relief" in the wake of the delays, allowing them to issue the badges before full security threat assessments have been completed. TSA said all new employees still have their identities verified and are checked against a watch list before receiving their badges.
The memo said the employees must still get the full clearance "at some point," and if they are rejected, the badge will be deactivated.
The issue is not limited to Hartsfield-Jackson, but the impact of the delays varied by airport, according to the TSA.
Hartsfield-Jackson is adding hundreds of new employees through the opening of its new international terminal scheduled for May 16.
What led to the delays in security threat assessments and criminal history background checks was a nationwide change this month in the requirements for how to process background checks. The change affected requests submitted through a transportation security clearinghouse run by a nonprofit arm of the American Association of Airport Executives, according to the TSA.
The agency said it has worked to address the delay and no backlog remains.
"At no time was security at risk," TSA said in a written statement.
Hartsfield-Jackson added that it has been in full compliance with TSA's regulations and security directives, saying nothing has changed and all employees are fully vetted.
The full security threat assessment determines whether there are any outstanding immigration, terrorist or federal open wants or warrants pending.
TSA said it could not discuss the details of measures taken to ensure security was not at risk, saying it is sensitive security information.
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