ATLANTA — Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is under new leadership.
After the ice storm over the weekend led to more than 1,000 flights being canceled, Channel 2’s Karyn Greer sat down with the new general manager.
Ricky Smith says he felt that his team handled operations at the world’s busiest airport at an A-plus level.
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“I’m extremely proud of the team and how they performed over the weather system and they’re more confident now than they were going into it and so when the next one comes we’ll be even more confident,” Smith said.
He has been running the airport for about nine months. Most recently, he was at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
“Our runway clearance times were 15 minutes, no more than 30 minutes. No injuries. There were no delays here or cancellations that were specifically the result of the airfield not being available,” he said.
He told Greer he is already preparing for the massive influx of people coming to Atlanta for the FIFA World Cup over the summer.
Smith says they are adding more frontline staff in the concourses, signs in several languages and technology upgrades to move passengers through customs and security faster.
He says growth is also a challenge as Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines continues to expand its Atlanta hub and add international routes.
“We’re talking about having five runways where airlines can operate landers and takeoffs in an efficient manner. We’re talking a plane train that moves hundreds of thousands of people every day unlike any other airport,” Smith said.
There are thousands of cameras monitoring ticketing lobbies, baggage claim, concourses, walkways and gate areas.
Smith says they have integrated AI and biometrics into the camera networks to help security quickly spot unusual behavior.
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