Atlanta's airport seeks to widen Concourse D amid growing concerns

ATLANTA - Airports are more congested these days as people are traveling again and one concourse at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is more crowded than others.

The D Concourse is only two-thirds the size of the other facilities that house airline gates. 

The Airport General Manager Balram Bheodari is frank in his language about the layout. 

"The customer service level that we deliver to our customer is feeling it's my risk. We need to bring this. We need to modernize this concourse," Bheodari told the Atlanta City Council's Transportation Committee.

Planners are looking at widening the entire concourse that it's currently 60 feet wall-to-war. But that includes gates, seating areas, and restaurants, the actual walking space hole is less than 20 feet. 

"Some days during peak hour, Mr. Chair, if you walk through the concourse, you have to fight your way through the concourse, the restrooms are undersized, and the concessions around the side. Everything about concourse is undersized," said Bheodari.

And those who need to get to the gates at the very end will need extra time just to get there.

The airport is looking at tearing out sections at a time to expand. The airlines are on board knowing the current space is too tight. 

Council member Alex Wan: "Mr. Bhandari, when you come back and present this, I would be curious to also get a sense of scale of the dollar amount of the whole project."

Bheodari: "We are expecting to finish our due diligence. When estimating this project, and it would be into the hundreds of millions of dollars. It is going to be a very complex and expensive project."

Several steps have to take place before executing any decision before a renovation can take place. The general manager has asked the city council for $5 million to get started.

WATCH: FOX 5 NEWS LIVE COVERAGE

_____