Calls for action as unhouse population increases at Atlanta's airport

ATLANTA - The Atlanta City Council is formally calling upon management at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to develop a plan to aid and provide shelters to the unhoused population who have taken up residence at the world’s busiest airport.

FOX 5 has been reporting on the issue for years, including stories about violent acts some of those unhoused individuals have taken. Many workers at the airport have been voicing their concerns about those violent acts.

At City Hall on Monday, Council member Michael Julian Bond added his voice to the issue, calling on the airport’s general manager to take action now. He called the situation not only horrible, but deplorable.

Bond stated the situation there has gotten out of hand as business owners and travelers continue to be subjected to unimaginable circumstances.

"How do you break into a bank, defecate, urinate, spend the night and no one knows you have done it until the next morning?" Bond told the council.

Bond says the first step is to expand the Policing Alternative and Diversion initiative hours, or PAD.

Homeless aggression has also spread to Downtown Atlanta, near the Fulton County Courthouse and beyond. Several people have reported not just verbal assaults, but physical altercations.

Bond is urging the city and airport to start addressing the homeless population and even find funding for better outreach and support. He also says there is a need to find out what specific services are needed for the individuals. 

The council also passed a resolution which establishes the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport atrium policy task force, which will review all the procedures, policies, and laws and to provide recommendations to improve operations and enhance the safety of the airport's atrium and the adjacent terminals.

That resolution is expected to be on the mayor’s desk for signature soon.