A few weeks ago, the Airports Council International once again named Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport the world’s busiest airport, citing an 11.7% increase in traffic from the previous year’s numbers. I actually happened to be in the same airport when I first saw this article, which got me thinking… While I certainly believe that Atlanta is probably the busiest, is it the best airport? Let’s talk about it.
I’ve been in more than a few airports, both domestically and around the world and during my travels, I find myself comparing airports to each other and my home base, Atlanta of course. I also have had (and overheard, if I’m being honest) a lot of conversations about people who love or hate Atlanta’s airport and why. Here’s what I’ve found out:
People have a love/hate relationship with the layout and organization of Atlanta’s airport. In my opinion, it’s pretty simple. You have two terminals, Delta on the South Terminal and all other airlines on the North. Technically, the International Terminal is the third terminal that you can reach by train or by an entirely separate building. The North and South Terminals are connected by a short walk through a central atrium with a few restaurants and shops. One long centralized thoroughfare connects you to all seven concourses, A-F, T concourse and baggage claim via The Plane Train. Each concourse has an arm to the left and right taking you to one of roughly 15-20 gates on either side. The train runs often and moves fast, making it a pretty efficient mechanism to move people through the airport.
Now while I find the layout incredibly simple to navigate, I will say, it’s remarkably inefficient. For starters, the makeshift lanes created for pick-ups and drop-offs. They don’t make sense, you can’t move between them, so you either wait in the first lane forever or you have to get out in the middle of the road. Next, while check in is mostly pretty smooth, though sometimes the lines get long, my issue comes with security. I can’t understand for the life of me why there is only one TSA precheck, Digital ID and Clear check point for both terminals. Such that if you’re not flying Delta, in order to use these benefits, you must venture to the South side. Lastly, while The Plane Train is pretty efficient, the what feels like 10 mile walk from one end of each gate to the other begs for some moving walkways.
There’s a pretty decent amount of food, shopping, restrooms and lounges, but their sporadic and sparse locations coupled with the long concourse walks mean you are basically limited to whatever is available at your gate of departure if you don’t want to risk missing a flight. And to have only one Starbucks inside the whole airport is pretty crazy, but maybe that’s just me.
Those are my thoughts on Hartsfield-Jackson. Don’t get me wrong, I have issues with it, but overall, I think it’s a great airport. I’ve definitely seen a lot worse. And they do a pretty good job considering it handles more traffic than every other airport in the world, but it could definitely be better. So tell me, what are your high points and gripes about Atlanta’s airport? Where is your favorite airport located, domestically or abroad? Which airport have you been wanting to experience?
Comments