Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

Guns at airports. Way too many at Atlanta airport

Guns, ,

ATL GUNS

The TSA discovered more than 1500 guns at airport checkpoints last year, and 100 of those were found in the carry-on bags of passengers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

In fact, according to a press notice the airport sent out on Wednesday, during 2012 more firearms were confiscated at ATL than at any other airport. This year ATL leads the pack as well, with 67 firearms found so far.

That’s not the list the airport wants to be leading, so on Thursday airport officials and representatives held a press conference/refresher course on the right and wrong ways to travel with firearms and the legal consequences for violating the federal and local laws.

“If you attempt to bring a gun through these checkpoints, you will be breaking federal law, and you will be arrested,” said Hartsfield-Jackson General Manager Louis Miller, who explained that violators will miss their flight, be taken to jail and be subject to prosecution and fines up to $7,500.

Want to see what kinds  of – and how many – guns are found at this airport and others each week? The TSA Blog presents a weekly review of the firearms (including a count of those found loaded and chambered) and other prohibited items discovered.

The list of what people simply ‘forget’ they have in the carry-on bags is often quite alarming.

You’ll see.

 

World on a string at Atlanta’s airport

Airports, Art, Exhibits, , ,

A new exhibit on Concourse T at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport features 51 puppets from around the world, all on loan from the Atlanta’s Center for Puppetry Arts.

In addition to the chickens (above), you’ll see traditional puppets, such as Punch and Judy, marionettes, hand-puppets and string puppets and non-traditional ones, such as those used for traditional Vietnamese water puppetry, in which puppeteers stand in chest-high pools and use the water as a stage.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. exhibit at Atlanta airport

Art, Exhibits, ,

The new Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial was officially dedicated this past weekend on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., with Aretha Franklin, poet Nikki Giovanni and President Barack Obama in attendance.

And so this is a good time to point out that there’s an on-going Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. exhibit at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Presented by the Airport Art Program on Concourse E, the exhibit features photographs and artifacts including the suit King wore when meeting with President Lyndon Johnson, a radio he used to listen to news reports while on freedom walks and the robe he wore to accept the Nobel Peace Prize.

Museum Monday: Creatures at Atlanta airport

Art, Exhibits, , , ,

Alligator, by Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Courtesy Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia; Promised gift from Carl and Marian Mullis

“All Creatures Great and Small,” an exhibit from the Georgia Museum of Art’s permanent collection and the collection of Carl Mullis, is on view at the T Gates at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport through Summer 2012.

Minnie Adkins & Large Red Fox

The exhibit features art depicting animals created by well-known, self-taught American artists such as Howard Finster and Mose Tolliver and by Michael Crocker, Willie Jinks, R.A. Miller and O.L. Samuels.

Here’s a great documentary made by the museum about many of the artists.

Georgia Museum of Art presents All Creatures Great and Small from Georgia Museum of Art on Vimeo.

Tidbits for travelers: connect at the airport

Airports, Layover, Mobile phones, Restaurants, Shopping, Travel tips, , , , , , , ,

If you’re heading to or through the Dallas/Fort Worth or Atlanta airports there are now money-saving reasons to make sure your smartphone is charged and accessible.

DFW introduced a program that links the Foursquare and Facebook Places location-based mobile applications to 85 (so far) of the airport’s concessions. Now if you check in when you’re at the airport you’ll see deals and discounts offered at food outlets and shops right around you.

For the next several weeks, you’ll notice “brand ambassadors” in the terminals telling people about the service, teaching them how to use it and handing out giveaways.

Back in April, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport introduced discount offers available via quick response (QR) codes printed signs around the airport.

The QR codes direct passengers to the airport’s mobile website — www.iflyatl.com — where there are downloadable discount coupons.

The TSA is also using QR codes. According to a recent post on the TSA Blog,  the agency is testing QR codes on checkpoint signage at a few airports to point travelers to information about lost and found, customer service, procedural information and travel tips.