Atlanta Airport Traffic Up; Flowing Smoothly

December 26, 2003

Airport Traffic Up; Flowing Smoothly
Atlanta Business Chronicle, GA

A local airport representative says holiday traffic has been relatively smooth 
this season, even with more passengers flying than last year and the nation on 
high alert. 
  
"We haven't seen any significant backups on the roadways, or any significant 
delays -- despite the heavy holiday travel," said Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta 
International Airport spokeswoman Wendy Pruett. 

On Dec. 21, the federal government raised the nation's threat level to 
"orange," signifying a high risk of attack from terrorists. 

On the same day, the Atlanta Police Department and private security personnel 
-- as required by the threat level -- began conducting random visual searches 
of vehicles on the access roads leading to the airport. In addition, parking 
spots close to the airport were temporarily banned. 

Despite the hassles of increased security, nearly a million more passengers 
have gone through the airport this season than last. 

During the two week holiday season of 2002, 3.6 million people used the 
airport. During this season, nearly 4.3 million are expected. 

More than 230,000 passengers are expected today. 

Pruett credits the increased staffing of the Transportation Security 
Administration for the successful operation. 

Thanksgiving traffic was also up from last year. An estimated 1.37 million 
people passed through the airport during the six-day season -- an increase of 
10 percent. 


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