Government Shutdown Causes Delays at Atlanta Airport (2024 Updated)

The security time period at Atlanta‘s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, which is one of the most crowded in the world, has increased to one house and a half, more than the average in the country.

The partial shutdown by the government has downsized the TSA agents who were instructed to work full time without getting payed.

The TSA reported that employees’ absences due to medical reasons became double the more frequent, therefore, a large number of the security lines in the domestic terminal were closed.

The Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is the biggest employer in the state of Georgia, so in this case, a great part of the federal staff faces financial difficulties due to the shutdown by the government.

The members of the National Deployment Force of the TSA were sent to Atlanta to appease the situation and free lunches were served to members of the staff, nevertheless, reports show that this was not enough.

Sources close to the White House stated that the only way for the shutdown to end is if a decent number of TSA officials who guard the airports decide to stay home collectively.

Contents

Conflicts with the Next Super Bowl
Other Affected Cities
How Are You Affected by This?
Atlanta Safety Overview

Conflicts with the Next Super Bowl

These delays can be an issue for a large number of things, including the upcoming Super Bowl 53 in February 2019.

The game will be played between the ever-popular Los Angeles Rams and the New England patriots and it will bring many people to the airport.

According to the Atlanta mayor, Ms. Lance, this will be one of the biggest events with utmost popularity that will take place in several weeks’ time, and the availability and proper functioning of the airport is incredibly significant.

The Atlanta airport can usually host 70, 000 to 80, 000 passengers per day while the day of the Super Bowl will increase this figure up to 110, 000 passengers.

Apart from the delays in security, air traffic controllers are also taking the repercussions of the government shutdown.

The risk of delays during the Super Bowl week will be intensified due to the higher number of private jets.

Reportedly, at the time of the Super Bowl, Atlanta expects around 1,500 additional flights and a larger number of risky situations due to fewer air traffic controllers.

Other Affected Cities

This issue concerns other cities apart from Atlanta.

At the beginning of January, the Miami International Airport shut down the security checkpoint at one of the terminals because it didn’t have enough TSA screeners.

All the shops and the restaurants in the terminal were closed in the early afternoon.

Also, the Dulles International Airport in Washington was forced to close several security checkpoints after many TSA agents were absent from work and on sick leave.

How Are You Affected by This?

Please have in mind that airport delays are a common (un)expected element in any travel itinerary.

Although the Atlanta airport has been most affected, all the airports face the same risk of delays.

We recommend you arrive at the airport at least two hours before the scheduled departure time in order to begin your travel smoothly and with less stress.

If you end up stuck in Atlanta, consider some of the Airbnb options, or if your flight gets further delayed, read more about what to do in Atlanta in one of the tourist guides to the city of Atlanta.