Atlanta City Council Passes Airport Rent Relief Measure for Concessionaires

Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport concessionaires and rental car agencies are set to get rent relief as travel plummets due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Atlanta City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously in favor of a measure to suspend minimum rent requirements for Atlanta airport shops, restaurants and rental car companies from March through June. Those businesses would instead pay their rent as a percentage of revenue, but would not be subject to a minimum flat payment if business falls below that level.

“Essentially this is a step to help businesses continue their services to they can keep people employed,” said Andre Dickens, chair of the city council transportation committee, which oversees the airport. “As many employees as we can preserve with this low amount of passengers, we will do so.”

The measure, which was developed with the mayor’s administration and allows the city to renegotiate about 40 airport contracts, will need to be disclosed to airport bondholders, according to city officials. The rent relief could be extended for another month beyond June if the COVID-19 pandemic has not subsided.

City of Atlanta Chief Financial Officer Roosevelt Council said the airport has done an analysis of the rent amendment and estimates the rent relief could reduce airport revenue by about $12 million annually, out of total airport projected revenue of $587 million. He said the primary impact would be to reduce the airport’s projected $125 million surplus used for capital improvement projects.

Dickens said concessionaires are telling him their business is down by around 50%. “It’s getting worse and worse. These guys are getting more and more dire information,” he said. 

He said concessionaires are also in discussions to change their required hours of operation because of a reduction in late-night flights that leaves fewer customers in the airport during those hours.

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