Hartsfield-Jackson is not only the primary international airport serving Atlanta, Georgia but also a global gateway, offering nonstop service to more than 150 domestic and 70 international destinations. Hartsfield-Jackson is also the first airport in history to serve more than 100 million passengers in one year and continues to top passenger totals worldwide.
“We are consistently ranked as the world’s busiest and most efficient airport, but we are more than that. ATL provides an annual direct economic impact of $66 billion in the state and 380,000 jobs with more than 63,000 at the Airport,” says the Airport General Manager Balram “B” Bheodari, adding that the Airport is a frequent recipient of awards of excellence, and is recognised for its leadership in concessions, operations, sustainability, architectural engineering, and construction.
The Airport enjoys a special position – 80% of the U.S. population is within a two-hour plane trip from ATL and a two-day freight drive, which helps ATL live up to its mission of ‘one team, delivering excellence while connecting our community to the world.’
Bheodari explains that another unique selling point for the Airport – and the City of Atlanta – is Mayor Andre Dickens’ mantra of “Moving Atlanta Forward,” which is partly about creating opportunities for all to advance. “Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is a key component for this, as we connect our communities to the world and generate economic opportunity oftentimes for those who have been neglected in the past.”
Speaking about recent developments, he points out that while the Covid-19 pandemic was a challenging time for ATL as for the rest of the world, it was a challenge handled well. “To help guide our recovery, we created a Resumption of Operations Playbook that was used as an organisational framework for the reconstitution of operations across all Airport stakeholders. The plan was organised around employee safety, customer touchpoints, operational efficiency and communication.”
“The resumption of normal operations and recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic occurred in a scaled manner based on demand, with a focus of ensuring a safe environment in all facilities at the Airport. The processes and guidance in the plan were designed to meet or exceed the recommendations of the CDC and public health officials.”
People at the core
The concept of people being the key asset is not just a phrase at ATL. “We are always striving to provide career mapping, promotion from within and training opportunities in soft, supervisory and technical skills. We are constantly looking for talent to join our team. Fortunately, the worldwide stature of Hartsfield-Jackson helps us to recruit the best and brightest,” says Bheodari.
“One of our biggest opportunities is to ensure we have a steady flow of trained tradespeople in Airport operations,” he continues. To fully embrace this opportunity, earlier this year the Airport launched its inaugural ATL Apprenticeship Program in partnership with the Georgia Department of Labor, Atlanta Technical College, and the Technical College System of Georgia.
This initiative provides a unique, paid opportunity for selected seekers, current employees, and high school student participants to “earn while they learn” with work-based training and one-on-one mentoring from an ATL Department of Aviation employee. The first cohort was celebrated in early December 2023 during which leaders celebrated growth and accomplishments of the inaugural apprentices of the Maintenance department.
Bheodari further explains that following the legacy of Mayor Maynard H. Jackson, ATL is a recognised leader in the industry in DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) initiatives. “More than half of the senior leaders in my organisation are women. The Airport’s focus on these areas has helped to create a burgeoning middle class in communities who in the past were unable to capitalise on these opportunities.”
ATL has a strong commitment to its surrounding communities and to those who may have missed out on economic opportunities in the past. To this end, of the $3.5 billion in approved invoices for ATLNext, $2.7 billion were diversity eligible and $863 million went to minority, female, and disadvantaged business owners.
This commitment extends to the city’s youth. Mayor Dickens has declared 2023 to be the ‘Year of the Youth.’ As part of this initiative, the Airport once again provided a Summer Youth Employment Program that hired approximately 100 metro Atlanta youth. Nearly every business unit within the Airport took part in this endeavour to help bridge the gap between knowledge learned in the classroom and the world of work in the aviation industry.
Elevating customer experience
The focus now is on building human and physical infrastructure that supports the Airport today as well as the ATL of the future. “As mentioned, we are diligent about ensuring we have world class staff for today and tomorrow. This is imperative as over just the next 10 years more than a billion passengers will travel through the Airport. We will handle over 8 million take-offs and landings and the Airport will generate over $10 billion in revenue,” says Bheodari.
Regarding physical infrastructure, the Airport is in the midst of a 20-year capital program called ATLNext that is designed to boost capacity, renew, and replace existing facilities and enhance ATL’s aesthetic appeal. These projects fall under the six general areas of Central Passenger Terminal Complex, Parking Decks, Hotel and Travel Plaza, Support Facilities, Air Cargo, and Airside.
ATLNext will help strengthen Hartsfield-Jackson’s position as the world’s busiest and most efficient airport, and further bolster the Airport’s goal of providing the best possible customer service while also meeting passengers’ changing needs.
“As a global leader in the aviation industry, Hartsfield-Jackson is committed to providing exceptional customer experiences for passengers,” says Bheodari. “We are also in the process of reimagining our more than 300,000 square feet of concessions programs. Our master plan calls for providing a high-calibre concessions offering, so we are undertaking this initiative with an eye to creating a sense of place and to elevating the customer experience for today and the future.”
