The Massive Scale Of Atlanta's Airport: A Comprehensive Overview

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport is one of the world's busiest airports, serving over 100 million passengers annually. The airport covers 4,700 acres of land and has five runways, with the longest measuring 12,390 feet. The airport is located 10 miles south of Downtown Atlanta and is named after former Atlanta mayors William B. Hartsfield and Maynard Jackson.

Passenger traffic

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) has been one of the world's busiest airports by passenger traffic since 1998. In 2019, over 110 million passengers travelled through Hartsfield-Jackson, and in 2023, the airport served over 104.6 million passengers—the most of any airport in the world. The airport averages 286,000 passengers a day, with around 2,100 arrivals and departures daily.

The airport has two terminals and seven concourses, with up to 192 gates available each day for arriving and departing flights. The Maynard H Jackson Jr International Terminal is located on the east side of the airport, and the Domestic Terminal is on the west side. The two are connected by a Transportation Mall, a pedestrian tunnel with moving walkways, and the Plane Train, an automated people mover operating 24/7.

The airport is well-connected to the city of Atlanta, with direct access to the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), a terminus on the Red and Gold lines. Additionally, there are ample parking options, with up to 30,000 car parking spots available, and over 150 car rental providers.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the corporate headquarters and primary hub of Delta Air Lines, which operates over 1,000 flights daily to 225 domestic and international destinations. Delta's hub is the world's largest airline hub and is considered America's first mega-hub.

Terminal and concourse details

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport has two terminals and seven concourses with a total of 192 gates. The Domestic Terminal is located on the west side of the airport, and the Maynard H. Jackson Jr. International Terminal is on the east side. The Domestic Terminal has entrances on both sides, known as Domestic Terminal North and Domestic Terminal South. Concourse T is directly connected to the Domestic Terminal, and Concourse F is directly connected to the International Terminal. The remaining five concourses (Concourses A-E) are located between the two terminals and are parallel to each other.

The terminals and concourses are connected airside by the Transportation Mall, an underground pedestrian tunnel with a series of moving walkways and The Plane Train, a 24/7 underground automated people mover. The Plane Trains operate approximately every two minutes, carrying over 200,000 passengers per day on average.

Delta Air Lines' hub includes operations on all seven concourses. The south side of Concourse T and all of Concourses A and B are used exclusively by Delta for mainline domestic flights. Delta's regional flights (operated as Delta Connection) primarily operate from the north side of Concourse C. The south side of Concourse C is used by Southwest Airlines for their operating base. All other domestic airlines operate from Concourse D or the north side of Concourse T. Some Delta and Delta Connection flights operate on Concourse D as well.

International flights operate on Concourses E and F. Concourse F is the only concourse in the airport that has a gate that can support an Airbus A380, the largest passenger aircraft in the world. All non-Delta international carriers operate their ATL flights from this terminal, including Delta's partners such as Air France, KLM, Korean Air, LATAM, Virgin Atlantic, Scandinavian, and WestJet. Aeromexico operates in Concourse E. Some WestJet flights operate in Concourse D.

Runway specifics

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport has five runways, all aligned in an east-west direction. The airport's longest runway is 12,390 feet (3,776 meters) long, which can handle the Airbus A380. There are three runways that are 9,000 feet (2,743 meters) long, and one runway that is 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) long. The airport's runways are long enough to accommodate fully laden aircraft, providing them with the distance needed to accelerate safely to take-off speed or stop in case of an emergency.

The two inner runways, closest to the terminals, are the longest. The outer runways are used for landing and have specialized Category III Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) that provide precise radio beams for aircraft to follow to the runway. These systems allow the most modern aircraft to land themselves in low-visibility conditions.

Having five parallel runways allows multiple aircraft to take off and land simultaneously without the concern of crossing flight paths. This enables all runways to be in near-continuous operation. In fair weather, more than 90 aircraft may land and 100 may depart in an hour.

History of the airport

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the primary international airport serving Atlanta and its surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of Georgia. The airport covers 4,700 acres of land and has five parallel runways. It is named after former Atlanta mayors William B. Hartsfield and Maynard Jackson.

Candler Field/Atlanta Municipal Airport (1925-1961)

Hartsfield–Jackson began with a five-year, rent-free lease on 287 acres of land that was once an abandoned auto racetrack named The Atlanta Speedway. The lease was signed on April 16, 1925, by Mayor Walter Sims, who committed the city to developing it into an airfield. The property was renamed Candler Field after its former owner, Coca-Cola tycoon and former Atlanta mayor Asa Candler. The first flight into Candler Field was on September 15, 1926, by a Florida Airways mail plane flying from Jacksonville, Florida.

In May 1928, Pitcairn Aviation (later known as Eastern Airlines) began service to Atlanta, followed in June 1930 by Delta Air Service. By the end of 1930, Atlanta was the third busiest airport in the country for regular daily flights. Candler Field's first control tower opened in March 1939.

In October 1940, the U.S. government declared it a military airfield, and the airport doubled in size during World War II. In 1942, Candler Field was renamed Atlanta Municipal Airport, and by 1948, more than one million passengers passed through a war surplus hangar that served as a terminal building.

Original Jet Terminal (1961-1980)

In late 1957, construction began on a new $21 million terminal, which opened on May 3, 1961. It was the largest terminal in the country at the time and could handle over six million travellers a year. Within its first year, 9.5 million people visited, exceeding the terminal's capacity.

In 1971, the airport was renamed William B. Hartsfield Atlanta Airport after the death of former Atlanta mayor William B. Hartsfield. The name was changed again later that year to William B. Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport with the introduction of international flights to Mexico and Montego Bay.

Midfield Terminal (1980-present)

To address the significant increase in air traffic, construction began on the present midfield terminal complex in 1977 under the administration of Mayor Maynard Jackson. It was the largest construction project in the South, costing $500 million. The new complex opened on September 21, 1980, on time and under budget. It was designed to accommodate up to 55 million passengers per year and covered 2.5 million square feet.

In 1999, Hartsfield–Jackson's leadership established the "Focus On the Future" development program to prepare the airport for a projected demand of 121 million passengers in 2015. The program was originally budgeted at $5.4 billion over ten years but was revised to over $9 billion in 2007.

In 2001, construction began on a fifth runway, which was completed in 2006 at a cost of $1.28 billion. It is the nation's only active civil airport to have a runway above an interstate. Along with the fifth runway, a new control tower was built, which, at 398 feet tall, is the tallest in the United States.

In 2003, the Atlanta City Council voted to rename the airport Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport to honour former mayor Maynard Jackson, who died four months prior.

In 2012, the Maynard H. Jackson International Terminal and Concourse F opened for international passengers, and the 1980 terminal became known as the Domestic Terminal.

Transport connections

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport offers a variety of transport connections to and from the airport, including by road, rail, and air.

Road

The airport is located 10 miles (16 km) south of Downtown Atlanta, with access from Interstate 85 and Interstate 75. It has parking facilities for over 30,000 vehicles, including designated spaces for disabled passengers and electric vehicle charging stations. The airport can also be reached by taxi, limousine, rental car, shuttle bus, and rideshare services.

Rail

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) provides train and bus services to metro Atlanta. The airport has its own train station on MARTA's Red and Gold lines, which is connected to the west end of the Domestic Terminal. The Airport Station is currently the southernmost station in the MARTA system.

Air

The airport has five parallel runways, all aligned in an east-west direction. There are three runways that are 9,000 feet (2,743 m) long, one runway that is 10,000 feet (3,048 m) long, and the longest runway measures 12,390 feet (3,776 m) long, capable of handling the Airbus A380.

Frequently asked questions