Atlanta airport says ready for Super Bowl crush despite shutdown

[January 16, 2019]  By Rory Carroll

(Reuters) - Atlanta airport will be ready to field the tens of thousands of additional visitors expected for next month's Super Bowl despite the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, which has left critical airport personnel unpaid, a spokesperson said Tuesday.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), 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, said Elise Durham, the airport's director of communications.

More than 1,800 volunteers will help passengers navigate the airport while additional customer engagement agents will be on hand to assist people entering and exiting the city, she added.

Durham said the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the federal agency responsible for airport security screening, had committed additional resources for the Super Bowl, before the government shutdown.

"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 said the airport typically handles about 270,000 passengers a day.

"(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 will be held.

"As the first touchpoint for fans traveling to the big game our first priority, as it is every day, is the safe and secure movement of our passengers and employees."

The partial U.S. government shutdown, which is the result of a political dispute over funding for a wall along the U.S. 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.

A jump in unscheduled absences by security screeners was seen on Sunday but a TSA spokesperson said security had not been compromised at U.S. airports. (Editing by Greg Stutchbury)

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