Foot traffic at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport checkpoints was heavy Friday as Memorial Day weekend kicked off.
About 83,500 passengers are expected to go through Transportation Security Administration checkpoints each day during the holiday weekend, according to the airport.
But wait times were less than 15 minutes at south, main and international checkpoints, as of 2 p.m. Wait times were between 15 and 30 minutes at domestic north.
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport’s new interim general manager Roosevelt Council told Channel 2 he expected the decrease but that privatization of the airport’s security is still an option.
“We think that it’s going to be a pretty smooth day for us,” Council said Thursday, speaking publicly for the first time about improvements.
He said the TSA has focused in recent days on cutting down wait times at security checkpoints.
“As of Monday, they gave us 30 additional officers, and that … actually allowed us to open our checkpoints at 4:30 a.m.,” Council told Channel 2.
He said the TSA guaranteed him all 28 screening lanes at the airport’s three checkpoints, which are open to handle the holiday travel traffic. Meantime, the airlines have helped retrain airport customer service staff.
“We’re getting back to a lot of our core basic things that have been always important for this airport,” Council told Channel 2.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed abruptly fired former general manager Miguel Southwell Friday suggesting Southwell took his foot off the gas after his February threat to privatize checkpoints.
“For some reason, the speed around that decision did not meet with the conversations I’ve had about this privatization effort,” Reed said.
But Council said pulling that trigger is still on the table, according to Channel 2.
“I think that the possibility is as large as what the mayor says,” Council said.
