A hiring freeze and restrictions on overtime for Transportation Security Administration officers are raising concerns about longer security screening lines at Hartsfield-Jackson International and airports around the country.
"We are hopeful they resolve their budget issues quickly," Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport general manager John Selden said of TSA.
The agency said in a statement that it is "managing resources by prioritizing overtime to the busiest of travel periods," and that it will have two hiring windows to coincide with the busy summer travel season.
The American Federation of Government Employees says TSA has "dealt with severe understaffing for years."
"A hiring freeze and overtime cap will undoubtedly make lines longer," said AFGE TSA Council 100 president Hydrick Thomas in a written statement. The TSA's order to freeze hiring was first reported by KUER public radio in Utah.
The delay in hiring is necessary to fund a pay increase, according to TSA's budget overview for the 2021 fiscal year.
Selden said the airport will "do everything we can to help the TSA." Airport workers and Delta employees are assisting with management of lines leading up to security checkpoints and helping passengers to prepare for screening.
The Atlanta airport is also gearing up for crowds over the busy summer travel season and big events in town even sooner than that.
"We have the Final Four coming and stuff, so we need that whole thing to get resolved and have a plan," Selden said.
The NCAA basketball men's Final Four tournament will be played in Atlanta on the first weekend of April, drawing thousands to the city. The event at Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be accompanied by a music festival headlined by Taylor Swift at Centennial Olympic Park and a Final Four Fan Fest at the Georgia World Congress Center.
Hartsfield-Jackson is starting a project to expand the domestic terminal's South security checkpoint. The airport recently relocated the queuing area for the checkpoint to a temporary adjacent location previously used for Delta international check-in.
The expansion project will be done in phases to keep the checkpoint open throughout while part of it is under construction. The entrance will be moved a few more times during construction, according to Hartsfield-Jackson spokeswoman Elise Durham.
Airport officials plan to add five lanes to the checkpoint by the end of this year. It will also have a large queuing area leading up to the checkpoint — which can help prevent lines from backing up into hallways, even when there are hundreds waiting to be screened.