Atlanta airport officials like to boast that Hartsfield-Jackson International is the world’s busiest and most efficient airport, with a terminal that always looks “opening day fresh.” But over the past few months, the airport’s domestic terminal has become more known for being filled with homeless people overnight and into the early morning hours.
For years, there have periodically been some homeless people at the airport, which is a public place open 24 hours a day. But the closure last year of downtown Atlanta’s Peachtree-Pine shelter, which housed as many as 500 people, combined with a prolonged spate of frigid temperatures, has resulted in larger numbers of homeless seeking out a place to escape the cold.
The City of Atlanta opens warming centers when the temperature drops. Still, over the past couple of months many homeless have been taking MARTA to the Atlanta airport stop, settling down in the comfy chairs in the domestic terminal atrium or stretching out on the floor. Read More…
