Tip & Tricks for Navigating The World’s Busiest Airport like a Local

Photo by Marco López on Unsplash

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport is the busiest airport in the world, and has served more than 100 million passengers in a single year.

The thought of stopping through the ATL airport can cause panic for some. As a frequent business traveler & ATL native, I’m going to share my personal tips & tricks for getting to and through the ATL airport without breaking a sweat.

Timing Your Arrival

Optimal arrival time for the airport will always vary depending on your level of comfort. The ATL airport is extremely efficient. I think of it like the “Chick-fil-a” drive through of airports. Even so, plenty prefer to arrive very early just to be safe, even if it means a bit of extra time at the gate (see my perks section below for more on what to do once at the airport!). My recommendations are made with the intent of getting you to make the flight without worry, but also not spent much time waiting around.

My timing guide for ATL arrival is that, as a baseline, if you are being dropped off and do not have a bag to check you should arrive 40 min. — 1 hr before boarding (and boarding is about 40 minutes before take off). For example if I have a 3pm flight, I would expect it to board around 2:20p and I would arrive around or a little before 1:40p.

Then I apply the following variables which may add or detract time:

• -10 min. for less busy times which would be late at night, or after 3pm mid-week
• +12 min. for park and ride (the amount of time it takes for the bus to take you from your car to front door)
• +15–20 min. if parking in economy or hourly. Parking at park and ride can often be much faster than parking in economy long term due to availability and walk times. See more below under “parking’”
• +30 min. for busy holiday weekends like 4th of July or Thanksgiving
• +30 min. minimum for Monday morning & and no bag check
• +1hr. for Monday morning & with bag check
• +1 hr. for intent to dine in an airport restaurant or +15 min. if you are trying to get fast food while in the airport

Tip 1: If you can avoid flying on a Monday morning, try.

Regardless of efficiency, the amount of business travel happening on Monday morning between 6am and 10am is VERY high. Monday mornings are not only the longest lines, but also the times that services like Pre-Check and Clear are the least useful since so many other business travelers are also enrolled. It is not uncommon for the Pre-Check line to be longer than general security on a Monday.

Transit, Parking & Drop off:

Domestic

If you are driving and parking, the airport has an extensive Hartsfield Parking Guide for you to utilize. However, there are a lot of useful tips when it comes to parking at ATL that wouldn’t necessarily be common sense.

• North & South gates: If you are not checking a bag, it doesn’t matter which you park or get dropped off at. It’s also not a nightmare walk from one to the other if wind up on the wrong side.

Tip 2: For parking longer than a day, Park and Ride is not only cheaper, but it can be much faster to find a space and get to the gate over economy.

• The economy parking lots are massive with no clear indicators of empty spaces. After circling and finally finding a space, you could still be a healthy walking distance away from the doors totaling a 20+ minute ordeal. Even worse if there is rain. The park and ride lots have clear entry and immediate guidance to empty spaces. There are enough shuttles that one will always be there to take you from right outside your car to the front door. This will take 10–12 minutes one you are on the shuttle.
• Hourly parking typically has space and is covered for those trying to park and meet a loved one inside the airport or for those leaving and returning on the same day.
• Marta is a great option for arrival. The whole Marta schedule is posted online so be sure to look up how much time it will take you from your stop to get to the airport, but once you arrive its connected directly to all gates, no shuttle required.

International

• The International terminal has its own parking lot and security. You use a different exit and depending on the direction you came, different interstate to get to it.
• Don’t fret if you wind up in domestic but meant to be at international! There is a free shuttle that runs between Domestic and International Terminals every 15 minutes from the outside of the building OR you can also go through security and navigate to international (Terminal E) by using the plane train inside.
• Sometimes the security lines for the international terminal are MUCH shorter since it is a whole security area for a single terminal.

Tip 3: While its not well known or specifically encouraged, it is possible to use international security to get to a domestic terminal (I have done it). This is a great hack to avoid super long domestic security lines.

Getting Through Security

If you need assistance or a wheelchair, be sure to ask upon arrival at the gate where you would check your bag. There are special security lines for this, but you need to have an airline assistant with you to use them. Keep in mind that means your airline assistant will need to go through security with you, so it doesn’t always save significant time.

There is more than one security entrance at Hartsfield, but unlike some other airports, at ATL all of the security entrances dump you to the same area (See Navigating the airport).

Tip 4: You can and should actually check security wait times for each of the gates online before you arrive.

The airport is equipped with large Clear and TSA Pre-check lines. Don’t forget my note about Monday mornings where those lines are longer due to high business travel!

Most of Hartsfield is equipped with an automated bin system. They have related tips on the airport you can find here. However, the number one thing I see people miss with this system is that they believe they have to wait for the spot closest to them to open, when in fact any open bin in the line is ready and waiting.

Navigating Inside the Airport

Once you are through security you will have landed in an area I call the strip. I have highlighted this area below which is your pathway between all gates A through F. T is the closest gate to security and then you have an option of walking or taking the plane train between the rest. It’s not a tough walk between one or two (especially with the moving walkways), but if you need to make a flight quickly and you are more than one gate away, opt for the frequent train.

As a reminder, while it IS possible to park at and use domestic security and still get to the international terminal, it has its own parking and security that can get you there faster.

Perks & Extra Time at the Airport

The unfortunate reality is no matter how well we time our trip to the airport delays and cancellations happen. The airport can be an incredibly expensive pit stop for a few hours. The prices of food are close to that you see in Las Vegas ($15+ a burger or $12+ for a drink).

Tip 5: If you are looking for a great place to hang out for a while, I HIGHLY suggest stopping by one of ATL’s many lounges. A guest pass to enter gets you comfy seating, a buffet, and open bar for less than a round and meal in at the general gate.

As a Delta hub, there is at least one Delta Sky Club in every gate. Membership is free with some Delta credit cards and a low fee to be a guest of one. If you aren’t a Delta card holder, don’t fret! There are several other lounges in the airport. United Club & American Admirals Clubs exist at T gate, and this one offers a day pass to nonmembers flying AA/oneworld.

Staying for several hours? You book private sleeping suites at B gates starting at $42 an hour.

While most of these lounges have charging ports, I can confirm that we would be lost without our multi USB charger. This way both my husband and I can use whatever the closest plug is and make sure both of our phones and other devices charge at the same time without having to search around

Transportation away

If you didn’t park, you have a few options if you need to grab a ride on the fly.

• Taxi
• Marta: https://www.itsmarta.com/
• Uber/Lyft: Tip 5: Pick up can happen at north or south sides of the airport. Be sure to request the car before leaving the airport for one of them to avoid the mistake of being at the wrong one when you car arrives. It’s a hike to the other side.

Tip 6: Hotel Shuttle — You can use a free hotel shuttle to get away from the airport and then request your Uber or Lyft to the hotel to avoid airport prices.

Now you are all set to enjoy breezing through your next visit to Hartsfield. Happy travels!