Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (IATA: ATL, ICAO: KATL, FAA LID: ATL) is the main international airport for Atlanta and the areas around it in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is found about 10 miles south of Downtown Atlanta and is named for two former Atlanta mayors: William B. Hartsfield and Maynard Jackson.

Since 1998, this airport has been the busiest in the world for people flying in and out, except in 2020 when travel dropped because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2024, more than 108 million passengers passed through its gates, making it the top airport globally.

The airport is the main place for Delta Air Lines to fly from, with over 1,000 flights each day to many places around the world. It is also where Delta’s big office is and where the airline does most of its plane checks and fixes. Other airlines, like Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines, also use the airport. People can fly to many parts of North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and East Asia from here.

The airport sits mostly in areas not part of any city in Clayton County, but some parts are in Fulton County, College Park, and Hapeville. It covers a large space—about 4,700 acres—and has five runways for planes to take off and land. The longest runway is almost four miles long and can handle very big planes like the Airbus A380.

History

Candler Field/Atlanta Municipal Airport (1925–1961)

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport started in 1925 when the city rented a former racetrack named Candler Field. The first flight landed there in 1926, and soon airlines began using the airport. By 1930, it was one of the busiest airports in the country. During World War II, the airport grew even more as it helped move military planes.

Original Jet Terminal (1961–1980)

In 1961, a new and larger terminal opened. It could handle millions of travelers each year and had many airplane gates. The airport was named after a former mayor, William B. Hartsfield, in 1971.

Midfield Terminal (1980–present)

In 1980, a huge new terminal opened far from the center of the airport. It was designed to handle even more passengers and had many modern features. Over the years, the airport added new runways, terminals, and services. Today, it is one of the busiest airports in the world, with many people working there and visiting every year.

Historic airline service

Delta Air Lines and Eastern Air Lines were the main airlines at the airport for many years. After Eastern stopped flying, Delta became the biggest airline there. Other airlines like Southwest and international carriers have also started flying to Atlanta recently, making it a very important airport for travel.

Facilities

Terminals

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport has two main buildings and seven areas with a total of 200 places for airplanes. The building for flights inside the country is on the west side, and the building for international flights is on the east side. The building for flights inside the country has entrances on both sides, called the North and South sides. Concourse T connects directly to the building for flights inside the country, and Concourse F connects directly to the international building. The other five concourses (A-E) are between the two buildings. The buildings and concourses are connected underground by walkways with moving sidewalks and The Plane Train, a special train that runs all the time.

Delta Air Lines uses all seven concourses for its airplanes. The south side of Concourse T and all of Concourses A and B are only for Delta's big planes flying inside the country. Delta's smaller planes mostly use the north side of Concourse C. The south side of Concourse C is where Southwest Airlines keeps its planes, along with some planes from Alaska and Frontier Airlines. Frontier Airlines uses gates on the north end of Concourse E. Spirit Airlines used to use Concourse E and some gates on the south side of Concourse D. All other airlines use Concourse T. Some Delta and Delta Connection flights also use Concourse D.

International flights use Concourses E and F. Concourse F is the only one that can hold an Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger plane. All international airlines that are not part of Delta fly from this building, including Delta's partners like Air France, KLM, Korean Air, LATAM, Virgin Atlantic, Scandinavian, and WestJet. Aeromexico uses Concourse E. Some WestJet flights use Concourse D.^{[failed verification]}

Passengers arriving from other countries at Concourse F go through a special check before leaving the airport. In Concourse E, passengers ending their trip in Atlanta walk underground to the Concourse F check. Passengers arriving in Concourse E and changing planes go through a different check in Concourse E and return to the concourse through a special TSA area.

• Concourse T has 21 gates.
• Concourse A has 30 gates.
• Concourse B has 32 gates.
• Concourse C has 34 gates.
• Concourse D has 40 gates.
• Concourse E has 31 gates.
• Concourse F has 12 gates.

Ground transportation

You can reach the airport from Interstate 85 southbound at exit 72/Camp Creek Pkwy, or from Interstate 85 northbound at exit 71/Riverdale Rd. The international building connects to Interstate 75 at exit 239. These highways link to other roads nearby: Interstate 285, Interstate 675, Langford Parkway, and Interstate 20.

The airport has paid parking in many lots and buildings, with 33,000 spots as of June 2024. Some parking areas connect directly to the airport, while others need a shuttle or the ATL SkyTrain. There are also private parking spots close to the airport with shuttles.

The airport has its own train station on the city's rapid transit system, MARTA, with the Red and Gold lines stopping there. The station is inside the main building, between the north and south sides of the building for flights inside the country. This station is the farthest south on the MARTA system now, but there are plans to build more tracks farther south into Clayton County.

The airport also has buses through the MARTA bus system, with Route 191 going to the international building from Lakewood/Fort McPherson station and other stops in Clayton County, including one at the airport's cargo area and the Harold R. Banke Justice Center in Jonesboro.

There are many shared-ride shuttle services at the airport for travelers.

The Hartsfield–Jackson Rental Car Center opened on December 8, 2009, and has space for all 10 rental car companies, with room for more. It has 9,900 parking spots in two tall buildings covering 2.8 million square feet (260,000 m²), a big customer service area, and a maintenance center with 140 gas pumps and 30 car wash spots. An automated people mover, the ATL SkyTrain, goes from the rental car center to the building for flights inside the country and the Gateway Center of the Georgia International Convention Center. A big road connects the rental car center to the airport.

Other facilities

The 990 Toffie Terrace hangar is part of Hartsfield–Jackson Airport and is inside the City of College Park. The City of Atlanta owns it, and now it is used by the Atlanta Police Department Helicopter Unit. Before, it was the main office for the airline ExpressJet.

Before joining ExpressJet, Atlantic Southeast Airlines worked out of this hangar, called the A-Tech Center. In December 2007, the airline said it would move its office to the facility, previously called the "North Hangar". This huge hangar has space for keeping airplanes and is 203,000 square feet (18,900 m²) with 17 acres of land and 1,400 parking spots. The airline planned to move 100 workers from Macon to this new office. The Atlanta City Council and Mayor of Atlanta Shirley Franklin approved a 25-year lease for the airline, giving them space to work on 15 to 25 airplanes overnight. Before, their airplanes were kept at Concourse C. Hartsfield–Jackson said the hangar was built in the 1960s and updated in the 1970s. Eastern Air Lines and Delta Air Lines used it before. Delta's lease was supposed to end in 2010, but the airline gave it back to the City of Atlanta in 2005 because of money problems. The city got almost $900,000 from insurance because of this.

Law enforcement

Law enforcement at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport is mostly handled by the Airport Section of the Atlanta Police Department (APD), which looks after the buildings, areas for airplanes, and parking spots. They work with federal groups, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Statistics

In popular culture

The airport appeared in a 2018 documentary called The Secret Life of the World's Busiest Airport on Channel 5.