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Atlanta airport installs new safety barriers
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport officials have installed new concrete safety barriers along terminal pickup and drop-off areas ahead of a busy Memorial Day travel rush and this summer's FIFA World Cup matches.
ATLANTA - The Memorial Day travel period kicked off Wednesday at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport with major safety changes, including new concrete barriers lining pickup and drop-off areas.
Atlanta airport security safety
What we know:
The Memorial Day travel period officially started Wednesday, and airport officials say they expect roughly 2.7 million passengers to pass through the facility over the next week. Airport officials expect Friday to be the busiest travel day of the holiday period.
Long rows of temporary concrete barriers now stand between traffic and the terminals on both sides of the airport. An airport official told FOX 5 the barriers were installed "for safety purposes" as Atlanta prepares for heavy summer traffic and hosts eight FIFA World Cup matches.
Nationwide airport terminal protection
What we don't know:
Airport officials have not directly linked the new Atlanta barriers to a January incident where a car crashed into the front entrance of the Detroit airport. However, normally that is the type of event that airports across the country pay attention to.
It remains unclear exactly when the temporary concrete structures will be removed. Officials said the barriers will eventually be replaced with permanent, in-ground bollards.
Passenger safety reactions
What they're saying:
Travelers at the airport shared positive feedback regarding the visual security changes outside the terminal.
"You can't have enough security," traveler Larry Melvin said. "You got a lot of crazy people in this world, you know, a lot of crazy ideas in their mind."
Traveler Christian Freeman said the safety measures bring peace of mind for frequent flyers. "It makes me feel better that they put it up for safety reasons, so maybe it'll help prevent any type of accidents, since I travel often and stuff."
Other passengers noted that preventative infrastructure is valuable even for rare scenarios. "Even though it's something very small that you think would not happen at all," traveler Dominick Proctor said. "There is always a possibility of that happening. And then having this can stop that."
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport officials, who explained how security upgrades are being implemented, as well as airport travelers speaking to reporters on site.