Atlanta airport officials urge travelers to arrive 3 hours before flight
Atlanta airport officials urge travelers to arrive earlier than usual
Security lines at the main domestic terminal have plateaued at two hours, with queues spilling into the baggage claim section.
ATLANTA - Travelers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport are facing grueling delays Friday morning as TSA security wait times at the main domestic checkpoint have reached two hours. The congestion is so severe that lines are currently stretching past the checkpoints and into the baggage claim area.
What we know:
On Friday, wait times at the main checkpoint were observed ranging from 45 minutes to more than 75 minutes. Thursday morning, the time peaked at around a two-hour wait.
The spike in wait times is largely attributed to a high number of TSA employees calling out of work. Many staffers have missed full paychecks following the recent government shutdown, leading to a shortage of personnel to man security lanes. Reports indicate that at various points this week, more than a third of the local TSA workforce has been absent.
CURRENT DELAYS & CANCELLATIONS
What they're saying:
The timing is particularly difficult for the airport, which expects to process nearly 350,000 travelers between Thursday and Sunday. While official guidelines typically suggest arriving two hours early for domestic flights, airport staff are now advising passengers to arrive up to three hours ahead of their scheduled departure to ensure they make their flights.
FOX 5 Atlanta spoke to passengers who said they arrived between 3 and 5 hours early and one woman told FOX 5 Atlanta that her flight on Thursday was canceled.
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"They are ridiculous, it's definitely longer than 80 minutes," said Janey Scott, an Atlanta resident. "You need to prepare your time you need to be sure you are packed and ready to go."
Scott added, "Hopefully we make it, hopefully we make it. We will, stay optimistic."
Taisheree Musette, who flies weekly from Atlanta, described the scene as unprecedented. "This is absolutely insane I have been flying 23 years since I moved to Georgia. I have never seen this (long of a security line) in my life and I fly every weekend," Musette said. "This is ridiculous I'm 2 and a half hours early and I'm concerned I'm not going to make my flight."
The scale of the airport was a shock to visitors like Lee Slatzer. "I've never seen anything like it I'm from Boise so we have a small airport, no lines," Slatzer said.
Regarding the TSA pay situation, Atlanta resident Stevilus Nelson called for a resolution to help move the crowds. "Open the flood gates, pay these guys and im pretty sure they will do their job Atlanta is the biggest airport in the country so its important we get paid and get moving," Nelson said.
Another traveler noted the difficulty of working without a paycheck: "Its sad people have families we have expenses, living, things we need to take care of and if you aren’t being paid you cant expect people to come to work."
The wait was enough for some to consider skipping the flight altogether. "I'm trying to get to Michigan, I don’t drive past 4 hours. I'm tempted to get in the car and drive this is insane I walked in and said to myself 'Ok the line long,' but It kept growing and growing and growing," one traveler said.