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Ben DeCosta reflects on
what goes into running
Hartsfield-Jackson
International Airport
 When asked about the issues he encounters
at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on
a typical day, Ben DeCosta smiles. “With the
volume of passengers we service on a daily
basis, there is rarely a typical day.“
However, every day – typical or not – the aviation general
manager of the world’s busiest airport identifies the item at
the top of his agenda: customer service. “We are averaging
230,000 passengers per day,” DeCosta says. “For many of
them, Hartsfield-Jackson will be their only view of Atlanta, so it
is imperative that we make a positive impression.”
A staff of more than 55,000 helps make that happen, running
this facility that stretches across 4,700 acres. That means
maintaining a 5.8-million-square-foot, 176-gate passenger
terminal complex, the largest in the world. It means stocking
more than 100 restaurants and concessions, providing 83 retail
shopping opportunities and business services, overseeing more
than 1.5 million square feet of cargo warehouse space, and
parking some 31,000 cars on-site on any given day.
When parking lots reach capacity, the parking division works
with the Georgia Department of Transportation to alert the
public via signs near the airport, on the airport radio station
830 AM, and at the airport website. For a really busy day –
which is “almost every day,” DeCosta says – the airport has
1,300 overflow parking spaces available south of the main
terminal. And 11 private companies offer additional spaces at
off-site lots.
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