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In the post-9/11 world, security, too, surfaces daily as
a challenge. DeCosta’s team works closely with the
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to reduce wait
times at security checkpoints. Airport staffers train continually
to keep passengers, employees, and visitors safe, following a
six-layered approach that involves the
TSA, the Atlanta Police Department,
and Hartsfield-Jackson’s Department
of Aviation Security. It also involves
frequent upgrades in new security
technologies and equipment.
In the midst of running an airport
of this size on just any ordinary
day coupled with the challenges of
running such an enterprise in these
extraordinary times, DeCosta is
leading Hartsfield-Jackson through
an ambitious $6.2 billion expansion
initiative. The centerpiece of that
development program has been the
opening of a fifth runway in 2006.
Touted as “the most important
runway in America,” it has made
a significant difference in reducing
flight delays, ground stops, and
the number of flights held. The
airport recently celebrated the first
anniversary of the runway, a year in
which it handled more than 95,000
operations there, including 89,363
landings and 5,917 takeoffs.
 And it was instrumental in a
significant improvement in on-time
arrival performance, which in the
past year went from a ranking of
25 nationally to fourth-place overall, according to the U.S.
Department of Transportation.
“During periods of the highest demand, the Atlanta Tower and
the Atlanta Terminal Radar Control Facility staff can routinely
depart or land more aircraft per hour than any other FAA
facility in the country,” says DeCosta, who previously served as
general manager of the Newark International Airport.
This April, Hartsfield-Jackson enhanced its efficiency further
with the opening of an end-around taxiway, officially named
Taxiway V (for Victor). Taxiway V is the first FAA-approved
taxiway of its kind and eliminates the need for planes to taxi
across active runways to get to arrival gates. Because it dips
30 feet below the surface of the airfield, it allows other planes
to continue operations without interruption. In addition to
other savings, DeCosta estimates that the taxiway will save $27
million in fuel costs alone each year.
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