Atlanta’s airport will be ready to field the tens of thousands of additional visitors expected for next month’s Super Bowl, despite the ongoing US government shutdown, which has left critical airport personnel unpaid, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, already the world’s busiest, expects to see an additional 125,000 passengers ahead of the Feb. 3 game and is bringing in reinforcements to meet the additional numbers, airport director of communications Elise Durham said.
More than 1,800 volunteers are to help passengers navigate the airport, while additional customer engagement agents would be on hand to assist people entering and exiting the city, she said.
The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the federal agency responsible for airport security screening, had committed additional resources for the Super Bowl before the government shutdown, she added.
“That commitment still stands and we expect to have additional TSA officers to support the increased operations,” Durham said.
“We also will have additional contract security on hand during the 10-day operational period,” she added.
The airport typically handles about 270,000 passengers per day, she said.
“[That] equates to about four times the Mercedes-Benz Stadium at capacity — every day,” she said, referring to the venue where the NFL’s championship game is to be held.
The partial US government shutdown, which is the result of a political dispute over funding for a wall along the US’ southern border, entered its 25th day on Tuesday.
The shutdown has led 800,000 federal workers, including TSA agents and air traffic controllers, to go without pay.
The shutdown has forced the cancelation of meetings aimed at planning for the up to 1,500 extra flights per day, Atlanta air traffic controller Dan McCabe said.
“It’s like being told you’re playing in the Super Bowl, but you can’t look at any game film, you can do limited game planning and your playbook is something that you’re going to have to put together at the last second,” he told reporters.
“We’re going to keep it safe, but in order to keep things safe, sometimes efficiency has to suffer,” he said. “I’m not saying that’s going to happen, but the potential for delay is real.”
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