Airports near Amazon’s new HQ2 sites prepare for surge in traffic

Reagan National Airport.Getty Images

• Amazon‘s new HQ2 is expected to bring 50,000 employees to Long Island City in Queens, New York, and Arlington, Virginia just outside of Washington D.C.
• According to TSA administrator David Pekoske, his agency is already planning for the influx of new passenger traffic created by the new Amazon facilities.
• The four airports most affected by HQ2 are Reagan National and Dulles International Airports in the Washington D.C. area as well as LaGuardia and JFK International Airports in New York.

After months of waiting Amazon finally confirmed on Tuesday that its new secondary global headquarters or HQ2 will be split between Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, New York and Arlington, Virginia. 

Each of the two HQ2 sites are expected house half of the 50,o000 employees expected to the staff the facilities. According to Amazon, the first wave of employees will begin to arrive in 2019.

As a result, local airports will likely have to boost manpower and bolster infrastructure to handle the influx of employees, their families, and increased business traffic.

With security lines a notorious bottleneck at airports around the country, the potential for HQ2-related congestion has long been on the Transportation Security Administration’s radar.

LaGuardia Airport in New York CityReuters/Andrew Kelly

“We’ve already been looking at this issue no matter which city or cities Amazon selected as their HQ2,” TSA administrator David Pekoske said in a press conference on Tuesday. “

Pekoske noted that his agency is evaluating what impact Amazon’s new facilities will have on TSA screening operations at Reagan National and Dulles International Airports in the Washington D.C. area as well as LaGuardia and JFK International Airports in New York.

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“What we do is, is we look at projected passenger throughput levels well in advance — very carefully coordinated with the airlines and the airports,  and then make our staffing adjustments well in advance of when we expect to see additional passengers arrive through the airports,” Pekoske added. 

In addition to staffing, Pekoske believes infrastructure improvements such as the newly rehabilitated security screening lines at Reagan National Airport will help soften the blow from the influx of new airport traffic. 

LaGuardia Airport is also in the midst of a major $ 4 billion revamp complete with a brand new Delta Air Lines terminal.