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Long lines greeted travelers Friday at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where federal officials say it could become the busiest day ever at the world’s busiest airport, even as the government shutdown continues to strain operations.
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The Transportation Security Administration said 110,561 passengers were screened in Atlanta on Friday, marking the airport’s fourth-busiest day. The previous record was set in May and totaled 114,113 passengers.
It all comes as TSA officers and air traffic controllers work without pay for the tenth straight day of the federal shutdown. Despite that, operations appeared to be running smoothly.
Sick calls, which disrupted airport operations during the 2019 shutdown, have not been a major issue this time, officials said.
Wait times on Friday afternoon varied across checkpoints, with 34 minutes reported at the main checkpoint, 21 minutes at the north, and just four minutes at the international terminal. Travelers with TSA PreCheck faced waits as short as eight minutes.
Friday’s surge comes as fall break begins for many metro Atlanta schools and travelers take advantage of the Columbus Day holiday weekend.
“The lines are really crazy right now, so we’re hoping we’ll be able to zoom by, but it doesn’t look like that,” said traveler Kaitlyn Kennedy.
Another passenger, Pace Kaplan, said he was concerned about the effect on airport staff. “We were a little worried. We heard about the shutdown. We knew the TSA workers were being overworked and that it would probably be stressful,” he said.
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian publicly thanked TSA officers and other essential workers during an investor call Thursday. “Thank you for your professionalism and your commitment to the traveling public,” he said. “We’re hopeful that Congress will act to reopen the government as soon as possible.”
Traveler Kaitlyn Torres said she was grateful to those keeping the airport moving. “Super appreciative,” she said. “Because without them, we couldn’t get through the airport and we couldn’t get where we need to go.”
The TSA urged passengers to arrive early and check real-time wait times at ATL.com before heading to the airport.
