"Atlanta Airport Security Delays Are Down"

Saturday, September 6, 2003

Atlanta Airport Security Delays Are Down
The Atlanta (GA) Journal-Constitution


Officials at Hartsfield International Airport say wait times at the security
checkpoint decreased during the last three months.

The maximum wait was 20 minutes or less on two-thirds of the days between
June 1 and Aug. 31, according to a Hartsfield news release.

Wait times ranged from a low of two minutes to a high of 51 minutes, the
release said. August was a good month, according to the airport, with wait
times at or below 20 minutes on 29 days.

Airport General Manager Ben DeCosta said the Transportation Security
Administration beefed up staffing during peak times.

"Their commitment to opening all 18 main checkpoint lanes between 5 a.m. and
9 a.m. is a key reason passengers are seeing improved processing times,"
DeCosta said in the release. "Also, providing more employees on Mondays has
helped reduce some of the longer waits."

Monday morning has seen logjams in recent months, with lines stretching back
to the MARTA station in July.

Business traveler Brian Carmel of Atlanta heard the news of shorter lines
with hope and skepticism. A frequent international traveler, Carmel waits in
long security-screening lines when he arrives from abroad.

"If I get caught behind a 747 coming from France, I'll be stuck for as long
as 45 minutes," he said.

DeCosta said that besides Monday mornings, the airport experiences peak
times on Thursday afternoons and at the international concourse on Saturdays
and Sundays.


 Do you have an opinion about this story?
Share it with other readers in our CAA Discussion Forums

http://www.californiaaviation.org/dc/dcboard.php

*****************************************