ATLANTA — Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is preparing for record crowds this summer, as falling COVID-19 cases and an increase in vaccinations are fueling travel demand.
The TSA is in the process of hiring 6,000 airport screeners nationwide before the end of May. Officials at Atlanta’s airport tell Channel 2 Action News they expect the agency to provide enough staff before the summer.
In a transportation summit last month with some Metro Atlanta congresspeople, TSA staffing was brought up as a priority for the airport.
“It is important to ensure that our federal partners are ready with staffing that is adequate to meet the demands,” said Balram Bheodari, Interim General Manager of the airport.
Travel agents say that their clients are not only booking trips for the summer, but even months or years in advance.
“Get your trips booked you’re interested in right now,” said Lindsey Epperly with Epperly Travel, “because I don’t see the prices going down.”
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For many travelers, they say they’re eager to get out more as traveling becomes safer with more vaccinations and declining cases of COVID-19.
“We hope that we’ll be traveling some more this year,” said Mary Struttman, who is in Atlanta to visit her daughter. “We had some vacations we couldn’t take in 2020.”
Cox Media Group
