The U.S. is unique in having almost all of its commercial airports owned by government. Airport leadership is often an exercise in patronage. And while there are federal rules about diverting airport funds for non-airport uses, there are plenty of ways to use it as a piggy bank for the politically-connected.
For instance, if you wanted to open a business like a restaurant in the Atlanta airport you needed to pay the ex-Mayor’s daughter first. The airport’s former manager was fired for being insufficiently corrupt, and then the city council buried the payments that bought his silence.
Getting kickbacks from vendors avoids problems with violating FAA rules on use of funds, but does sometimes attract attention of the FBI. Some employees just commit expense fraud. Atlanta airport management conducted ‘an investigation’ of employee expenses – remember, they’ve been signing off on these expenses and putting the managers in place.
- They paid outside counsel to tell them that no, the airport’s Chief Commercial Officer shouldn’t have had their cousin’s funeral reception paid for by the airport. The employee claims not to have known that other employees set up payment this way, but why are airport employees arranging a funeral reception for their boss anyway? Oh, and the catering was fraudulently listed as being for a ‘photo shoot’. Meanwhile the airport general manager found the Chief Commercial Officer “innocent in all of this.”
The menu included jerk chicken with caramelized mango, Southern-style green beans and garden rice pilaf, smoked beef brisket with three-color peppers, a Caribbean Cobb salad, along with sweet tea and lemonade.
- The airport paid $1,378.65 for 20 scented candles in a custom foil in the mayor’s design. The Mayor’s office claims to have been unaware of the purchase. And speaking of questionable hiring practices, the Chief Commercial Officer of the airport is.. the son of the mayor’s Director of Administration.
- There were invoices without any supporting documentation, payments for a birthday party, bills for makeup artists and $5,000 for the airport’s chief commercial officer to have a ‘photo shoot’ which was deemed ok because he used the photos on his social media account and because he was being given an award by his alma mater (which seems like a personal expense to me). One of the makeup artist businesses employed by the airport? “Become A Hot Chick.”
- Meanwhile an airport employee who somehow managed to have an expense reimbursement rejected has resigned over it.
Last month I worked through whether it matters for air service when an airport’s management is corrupt. A good management can improve air service at the margin, for instance by keeping costs low. But at an airport that is basically extracting rents, because it has a monopoly over an important region or because the amount of service is limited by law (slots), airport managers can extract money from the airport without seeing a deterioration in air travel options.
In fact in Atlanta I’d posit that while skimming for personal use may drive up Delta’s costs marginally, Delta benefits overall from a status quo where managers are happy with how things work and aren’t looking to rock the boat.
Time to vote out all of those corrupt Republican politicians in Atlanta!
Joke of the day:
What do you call someone who notices corruption in local government?
A racist.
@Chris
bwahahahaha Republican
The last Republican mayor in Atlanta was in office BEFORE Albert Einstein invented the lightbulb. Good old Nedom Angier in 1879.
Didn’t need to scroll to see what you look like. Your words gave it away. While I’m sure there is some waste and even some fraud. AHJ is still by far the best operated and maintained airport in the US. The amount of mismanagement is a fraction of what occurs at other major airports. The Georgia legislature has tried to steal control of the airport from Atlanta repeatedly over the decades. Those efforts were all about race. Your article is all about race. I can only imagine how bad it would become if operated by a state controlled authority.
Tim –
So it’s racist to call out corruption?
I mean these are pretty cut and dry. The expensed someone’s funeral. In what world should the airport be paying for that?
It ain’t racist if it’s true.
Also, sounds like Georgia’s legislature should have taken control of the airport a long time ago.
Tim, it can’t be worse than Atlanta if the state ran it. However, it should be commercialized and everyone of these ch theads should be sent to jail for fraud. The fact you make this about race shows what a low class person you are.
The idea that a private company operating a monopoly facility wouldn’t be the most hilariously corrupt company in the world is just funny. They’d triple costs on day 1 and you’d never see a detailed financial statement again.
Unless, of course, the government regulated the company. And then, hello bribery and regulatory capture.
I’ll keep my government-run airports, thank you very much.
Atlanta is the biggest city in the world with only 1 airport. ATL has been fighting a 2nd airport for decades.
Chris, please do the world a favor and stfu. You have proven you are the second most dense person here.
What does Atlanta have in common with Detroit, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Orlando, and Minneapolis: corruption yes but something else. If anyone criticizes how one group corrupts and steals elections, steals and mismanages tax payer funds, commits the majority of the violent crime, and turns a blind eye to violent crime when it is done by their group, he or she will be called a racist, bigoted, hateful, or worse.
They don’t even try to pretend they are not corrupt or violent but just say it is racist to criticize them, hold them accountable, and they need reparations under the premise that they’d have built paradise if left alone to their own devices instead of mud bricks and drums.. This is the country we live in. This is what appeasement and acquiescence has led to for 100 years. It’s insanity. Hate exists for valid reasons.
Hey Brandon……Let’s Go!
Corrupt Democrats on the rampage in Atlanta.
Try finding Dunkin or Starbucks or McD at ATL…maybe there is one Dunkin over 7 Terminals….
LoL, what else is new.? I’m sure every airport in the United States has gone though something similar to this, and maybe even worse.
@ Chris,
This is my actual name, you goon. I’m not a republican.
They’re all corrupt. It’s simply a matter of our scumbags versus their scumbags. Anyone who tries to argue otherwise is not being honest. Now, the real question is: in what way does this affect travel and points strategy?
@JohnDogas. What “they” are you referring to?
A good reason why the USA should join most of the rest of the developed world and privatize it’s airports. We know that the NY/NJ Port Authority (EWR/JFK) is shot through with corruption, and there is every reason to believe that these tales of corruption are the rule and not the exception.
Let’s do the Washington Metropolitan Airport Authority next! A quasi- govt organization that is accountable to no one.
I can’t tell if Chris is being sarcastic or extremely ignorant… but Atlanta has been run top-to-bottom by Democrats since Reconstruction.
And for the Mets fan… Einstein invented the lightbulb? That’s an interesting take, considering he was around 10 months old when the patent for the lightbulb was issued. Perhaps you meant Edison?
Chris there are no Republicans in Atl!!! It is a DNC run city for years. Beta life!
The proposals to take ATL under state control were probably not really motivated by race. No, they were motivated by (mostly Republican) politicians from outside Atlanta who wanted to take over the graft for themselves. Graft is the only truly bipartisan issue amongst politicians, and I don’t mean preventing it.
While I am probably jaded with age, but seeing how the investigation only found $6K of inappropriate expenses in an organization with over $370 million in operating revenue is probably not enough to justify any outrage or have the state take over the operations.
@Chris kindly get your a** out of this website.