ATLANTA — Some travelers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport said lines at the airport Monday morning were the worst they had ever seen.
A handful of people reached out to Channel 2 Action News and said they missed Monday morning flights because of the long lines. Wait times swelled to more than an hour, catching many off guard.
Channel 2 Action News anchor Craig Lucie said his wife was one of the people who missed a flight. She sent him video of the long lines.
Check out the security lines at ATL’s airport this morning. My wife sent me this and this is just the line for Clear! She travels weekly and says she’s never seen it like this @wsbtv pic.twitter.com/w2py2ogO1h
— Craig Lucie (@CraigLucie) February 25, 2019
The crowd caught up in the long lines included business travelers, cheerleaders and NASCAR fans in town for Sunday's race.
"Every Monday morning, 7:25, and I never miss my flight," Ashad Mahmood said.
Mahmood missed his flight this time after getting to the airport around 6 a.m. and waiting in the pre-check line for close to an hour.
TRENDING STORIES:
"Then I missed my flight, now I'm back at the same spot," Mahmood said.
"This is not a normal Monday," Yolanda Bell said.
Bell gets on the same 8:43 a.m. Delta flight every Monday and the only time she's seen it bad was during the government shutdown.
"I don't know if people have called out. But I’m not getting an honest answer from Delta or the airport," Bell said.
Officials at the airport said they had plenty of staff to keep things moving for a Monday. Channel 2's Steve Gehlbach reached out to TSA, and a spokesperson said one lane was closed at one point in time during the morning rush.
But it wasn't all hands on deck and all lanes open before 5 a.m. like a few weeks ago on the morning after the Super Bowl.
Just after 10 a.m., Gehlbach reported that the lines were improving.
Cox Media Group
