Two Controllers Left to Man the Tower to Kick off the Holiday Weekend

On June 28, the control tower at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) was temporarily evacuated as severe thunderstorms delivered strong winds and precipitation. This left hundreds of flights delayed and cancelled, marking a not-so-strong start to the busy holiday weekend.

For a brief period, only two air traffic controllers remained in the tower to manage inbound aircraft as the rest were pulled for safety due to the strong winds.

According to the FAA, the evacuation was prompted by winds strong enough to compromise safety in the 398-foot-tall tower, the tallest in North America. While only two controllers stayed behind to keep ATL functioning, the rest of the airport’s operations ground to a near halt. Departures were delayed by an average of 30 minutes, and arrivals were held at their origin airports for hours. At one point, arrival delays exceeded 75 minutes.

Flight data tracked more than 1,000 delays and over 170 cancellations at ATL by the evening. Delta Air Lines, which runs over 900 flights a day from the airport, diverted more than 90 aircraft due to lightning and hail. The storm brought quarter-inch hail to the airfield, prompting mandatory inspections and adding even more delay. Delta said cancellations could extend into Saturday due to repositioning needs and mandatory crew rest.

The chaos couldn’t have come at a worse time, with the holiday travel period from July 1 to July 7 projected to be among the busiest ever. The TSA expects to screen 18.5 million passengers during the week, with July 6 forecast to be the peak, topping 2.9 million travelers. For reference, TSA just broke its all-time single-day record on June 22 with 3.1 million passengers.

The rest of the holiday isn’t looking any more bearable for Atlanta controllers. Atlanta’s airport, the busiest in the US for 26 of the past 27 years, averages 2,100 daily arrivals and departures. That kind of volume doesn’t cope well with losing most of its tower crew, even for an hour.

FMI: www.atl.com