Hartsfield-Jackson to see crowds, pickets over Labor Day weekend

Caption

Delta Air Lines pilots demonstrate outside Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on June 30, 2022, demanding better working conditions.

Credit: Amanda Andrews / GPB News

Officials at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport expect 1.6 million passengers to travel through ATL during the five-day Labor Day weekend beginning Thursday.

That’s a slight increase from the 1.3 million passengers who traveled to, from or through the airport over last year’s Labor Day travel period.

And it comes as Delta pilots plan to use the busy weekend to picket at ATL and elsewhere across the country.

A spokesman for the company’s pilots union, Reed Donoghue, said that he will be picketing at another Delta hub, the airport in Salt Lake City.

He said that the intent isn’t to disrupt, but rather to send a message to Delta management about poor working conditions that pilots like him face that lead to delays and cancellations for passengers.

“It’s very likely that over the holiday weekend, our passengers will be on flights where either a Delta pilot or a Delta flight attendant is actually working on their day off to keep the operation running,” Donoghue said. “It’s time for Delta to come to the bargaining table and deliver the contract that the pilots have earned.”

Off-duty Delta pilots also picketed at ATL and elsewhere during the Fourth of July holiday travel period, when Delta experienced hundreds of delayed and cancelled flights.

A Delta statement said that the pickets will not affect its operations.

“[The union’s] stated purpose of picketing is simply to gain leverage at the negotiating table,” the statement says. “Our goal remains to continue providing Delta pilots with an industry-leading overall contract with the best compensation based on pay, retirement and profit sharing.”

The airport projects Friday as the busiest day, with a little more than 300,000 passengers expected.

Airport officials remind passengers that they should arrive at least two hours prior to their departure time.