The main security checkpoint of the international airport which serves the greater Atlanta metropolitan area is now open again — with wait times of fewer than 15 minutes — after it was shut down for several hours for cleaning earlier today, Wednesday, July 1, 2020 due to an agent of the Transportation Security Administration testing positive for the 2019 Novel Coronavirus.
Transportation Security Administration Agent Tested Positive for 2019 Novel Coronavirus; Causes Closure of Main Security Checkpoint for Hours at Atlanta Airport
https://twitter.com/ATLairport/status/1278410561588518912
The closure of the main security checkpoint was immediate after officials at the airport learned of the positive test; and as a result, long lines of passengers who were rerouted to other security checkpoints formed as people wearing full body suits designed to protect them from hazardous materials worked to deep clean, sanitize, and disinfect the area and its immediate surroundings.
The last time the aforementioned unidentified agent of the Transportation Security Administration worked was yesterday, Tuesday, June 30, 2020 from 3:30 in the morning until noon Eastern Daylight Time.
As of June 2020, 28 agents of the Transportation Security Administration at the airport in Atlanta have tested positive for the 2019 Novel Coronavirus; while one employee of the Transportation Security Administration at the airport who does not work as a screener at a security checkpoint has also tested positive.
Reaction from passengers at the airport was not exactly positive.
No zipping through @Atlairport. How can what happened today be the procedure for dealing with a positive COVID employee??? This is your plan? Everybody crammed together, in line for HOURS waiting for the 3 open stations at the North? Thank god I had a bag for my food!
— Gail Quick (@gailquick) July 1, 2020
Stood in line for over 2 hrs at @ATLairport and missed my flight. Called Delta – automated message said they couldn’t answer calls due to high volume and to use the message app. Messaged them at 2:55. No reply until 4:48. Completely unacceptable. @Delta pic.twitter.com/O6RP6N9FYR
— Ashley Floyd Kuntz (@FloydKuntz) July 1, 2020
I’m blown away. I’m at the ATL airport. They’ve closed TSA Pre because a TSA agent tested positive. Longest lines I’ve ever seen.
— Courtney Finnicum (@courtney883) July 1, 2020
After a TSA agent tested positive for COVID-19 at @ATLairport, deep cleaning has to be done at the main security checkpoint. Long lines still an issue. pic.twitter.com/48slB1XzKD
— Matt Johnson (@MattWSB) July 1, 2020
Summary
Although the aforementioned main security checkpoint is now open once again — long lines can still occur tomorrow with passengers who have missed their flights or were otherwise inconvenienced by what happened earlier today — this article serves as a reminder as to how quickly an itinerary can be interrupted and turn significantly for the worse; and that travel will not return to any sense of normalcy within the foreseeable future.
If you are traveling by airplane during the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic, remember that you still have the option to change or cancel your ticket without penalty for the month of July 2020 if necessary; and if you do cancel your ticket, you should be able to get a full refund.
Photograph ©2016 by Brian Cohen.
