Atlanta's airport sees shortage in police officer

ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is the world's busiest airports, but staffing problems are making it hard for police to cover all the concourses.

And with the holiday travel season here, the union director says the situation puts the public's safety in jeopardy.

Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields says she's frustrated with the problem, but until all overall staffing in the city can be beefed up, she's trying to supplement the airport manpower by hiring off-duty or contract officers.

The airport issued a statement saying quote, "Safety and security are top priorities at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. We are working collaboratively with our partners at APD to establish a sufficient compensation rate to attract a cadre of retired officers to augment our police force at the airport."