This is how Atlanta’s airport is keeping travelers safe for the holiday weekend

ATLANTA — The people in charge of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport are taking us through their final preparations for the Fourth of July weekend.

Channel 2′s Dave Huddleston got a look at the new procedures travelers will experience when they go to the airport.

The holiday weekend comes days after a TSA worker tested positive for coronavirus, forcing officials to close a main checkpoint and bring in a sterilization crew that took hours to clean the area.

John Selden, the airport’s general manager, said officials are now taking extra steps to keep passengers safe.

“As we finished the sterilization, we opened up a couple lanes at a time as we were sure the passengers would be safe going through the checkpoint,” Selden said.

Around 100,000 passengers are expected to travel through the airport for the holiday weekend, but that’s significantly down from last year.

“We expect 1,200 flights, right around 100,000 passengers and 30,000 passengers through our checkpoint today. So the recovery is underway. Like I said, before we were 98 percent percent down. Today we’re about two-thirds down, 65 percent down,” Selden said.

If you do travel, lots of safety measures will be in place. Passengers will have their temperatures checked on arrival and officials will provide masks if the travelers don’t have one. There are hand sanitizers available and there are markers on the ground for people to follow.

A Delta official told Huddleston you will need a mask to board any Delta flight. All workers will be required to have on masks and many will have on gloves. You’ll also see more cleaning crews wiping down handrails and chairs throughout the airport.

There will also be Plexiglas dividers between travelers and TSA agents.

Airport officials are also recommending people walk to their gate instead of using the Plane Train, to encourage social distancing.

Huddleston talked to Stephen Maceyko, whose job is to keep the airport clean and sanitized. He said the airport lost 98% of its traffic, but travelers are slowly coming back.

“We want people to fly,” Maceyko said. “We want to get to where we were, or somewhere near normal. The importance of this is all of us working together.”

TSA worker sick with COVID-19 causes airport to shut down screening checkpoint Channel 2 Action News has confirmed that the Main TSA checkpoint was shut down for a deep cleaning after a TSA agent tested positive for COVID-19.

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