Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport — Local services in College Park

Nov 2023 Update:

Last week marked yet another successful visit to my OG hometown airport to visit the fam.

For being hailed as the “world’s busiest airport” for more years running than I can even count (and your girl is wicked good with numbers btw…), Atlanta sure knows how to get stuff done… and FAST!

I arrived at Concourse C (4 full stops away from baggage claim on the sky train for those of y’all who aren’t familiar with the layout, or half the length of the ginormous airport), and yet, from the time the plane docked at the gate, I was deplaned (no not from first class… Yelp reviews unfortunately do not pay the bills, or any bills for that matter 😂), had time to hit the restroom (zero wait time and extremely clean, thank you awesome bathroom attendants 👏🏼), rode the sky train and the super tall escalator up to baggage claim, all in less than 10 mins. And I was by no means hustling.

But I’ll tell you who was… everyone working behind the scenes at Hartsfield-Jackson (yeah, yeah, I know it’s probably called something else now, but I’m old school). Because guess whose bag was already out circling round the belt as I walked up? This girl’s! 👈🏼 (here’s looking at you, Delta Airlines 😉)

So would I recommend ATL International Airport? 1000% yes! It’s an experience to be sure, and is a city unto itself. So if you’ve never been there before, please allow yourself plenty of extra time to get your bearings so that you don’t end up completely stressed about making your flight on time (because it can be confusing if doing it at first without someone who’s been there before and knows the landscape. Plus, if you accidentally end up with some extra time to kill, there is PLENTY to see…

The international concourse is like one big shopping mall and worth checking out, even if you’re only flying domestic. 🤫

But for goodness sake, when the Sky Train tells you to “please hold on, this train is moving”… HOLD ON! It’s no joke. Every stop starts and ends with a sudden lurch that will have you unexpectedly making out with the large window at the front or the back of the train car, and the natives will snicker at you and “bless your heart” under their breath.

So if you’d like to keep your dignity (and all your teeth), please heed my advice. Otherwise, don’t say I didn’t warn you, and feel free to check out my other reviews for a referral to my personal dentist who is fantastic in a dental emergency.

Keep up the good work, ATL! I’ll see y’all on my return flight back to Portland later this week! :)

— 2022: Busiest airport in the world - yes. Most to do at any airport in the world - also yes. Got here early with more than 3 hours to kill, and it was no problem finding a restaurant that would let me post up with my laptop and my charger to work for awhile while grabbing a bite to eat without rushing me in the least (thank you P.F. Chang’s on Concourse A).

This is my hometown airport, and even though I live in Portland, OR now, it will always hold a special place in my heart. I’m sure it can probably be a little difficult to navigate if you’re unsure of the layout. But once you’ve got the navigation down, it really is a breeze. Can’t wait till my next trip back in October. Until then Atlanta! — 12/03/21 Update: Flying out of Hartsfield-Jackson again today on my flight back to Portland, and this time I went through the international concourse. It was the week after Thanksgiving, yet the airport was still well run and organized for the large volume of people going through it even early on a Friday morning. And the International Concourse was beautiful and looked more like an upscale shopping mall than an airport. Would’ve loved to have had some more time to explore. Maybe next time. Once again, we’ll...

All of the employees at this airport seem pretty young, and they act very cool and casual as if they're teenagers at their first job ever. Friendly enough, but seemingly not a very experienced crew. There's actually decent food selection near baggage claim. Too bad this airport has removed essentially all their seating except in the restaurants. There used to be tons of seating all over, now you're lucky to find a single bench, but it's always going to be occupied already. Why did they take out seating??? This place is overcrowded and a mess to navigate. World's busiest airport, because you'll be stuck here for 2 hours trying to collect your things, get a small meal, and try to catch a ride to your hotel. Dissatisfied with my overall experience. The one nice thing is the connection to the Marta, which is easy to use, IF it goes to your destination.

While waiting for my luggage, my flight disappeared off all the screens, so I assumed all luggage had been unloaded, especially since it had been 30 minutes from the time we reached the gate. Went to the luggage office for my airline and asked if they had it. I had a layover and delay, so I knew it was possible my luggage had arrived before me (or unfortunately been left behind somewhere). I handed over my bag tag and they said I was too early and to keep waiting. I went back out to the claim, and watched it stop turning. Clearly, no more bags were coming at that time, and my flight was still unlisted. I gave it 20 more minutes before heading back to the office, where I was told I would need to file a claim since my luggage never arrived. Great! Less than 10 minutes later I got a call that they'd located my bag in their storage room. It was there the whole time! Good thing I hadn't left the airport yet! I was thankfully reunited with my bag, now an HOUR after reaching the gate. We'd also landed 30 minutes early and had a wait for a gate, so a total of an hour and a half waiting around. I don't know if the airline or the airport hires these people, but they seriously need more training.

I placed a mobile order at Starbucks near baggage claim, and they either never got it or someone grabbed my food. I waited at the mobile counter for 15 minutes, while it was not busy at all and there were 5 employees. No one bothered to ask me if I was waiting for an order while I was the only one standing there. Other people were walking up and ordering and getting their order quickly, while I'd ordered early and was left unacknowledged. Once I flagged down an employee, they were happy to remake my order, but seriously, they could have been more proactive. There were 5 of them chatting away with each other and other airport employees, completely ignoring another customer. Like I said, much like teenagers at their first job.

Finally, I went to catch my hotel shuttle, which was advertised on the ATL website and the Google About description for my hotel. There was a worker who was asking everyone what shuttle they were waiting on. This was great, as he knew the schedules and was actually very helpful. And he was the one to inform me my hotel didn't have a shuttle. When I mentioned the website, he jokingly said, "that hasn't been updated in 5 years!" Fantastic. So, do not rely on the ATL airport site for up to date information. I had to trek out to the rideshare zone to spring for an Uber, which is a floor below baggage claim and seemingly only has one escalator going down to it in the entire place.

Overall, this airport needs a massive overhaul in both staff and structure, and someone clearly needs to maintain the website. The employees I interacted with were friendly, but seriously need better people skills and training. They simply do not care about you, and you're...

October 2025 update - Allow extra time when you can. ATL is big and has a lot of moving parts, and the airport leadership runs it well, but keep in mind that another small airport can cause delays if they are not efficient & timely releasing a flight to ATL, which may be your connection. September 2025 Update - There is a new Starbucks on Concourse B. Way better than Concourse C. 2025 update - One of the best restaurants in the airport is "One Flew South"{Concourse E}, and if you prefer, one of the worst is "Great Wraps Gyros/ bowls"{Concourse C}. (June 2025 Update) Airport seems to have above average construction & repair work in progress. Although traffic through the concourse is well managed, things seems to take a long time - regardless, the airport is one of best in the world. (March 2025 update) - Outstanding airport design - you can find a bathroom/ sign from almost any part of the concourse. Airport looks well staffed, new helpers noted at various locations. Well done! {January 2025 update} Gentleman at TSA impressed me, although he sees 1000s of people each day, & he was saying hello & making conversation with "everyone". He wants to go to Europe (perhaps Germany)- hope some good luck & a small fortune comes along his way. {May 2024 update } Airport is at full swing, the changes/ upgrades in progress shows an excellent Engineering, Construction & Operations team working in the background. Well done. {Jan 2024 Update} Perhaps delays or early flighs, some of the concourses seem overloaded. Airport is clean and running well, considering all the flights that ATL handles. Life is back to normal. Wish there was more coffee shops and restaurants available. The crowds are back and ATL team is doing a great job to keep things going. After the airportfully opened after COVID, the "new" staff had to learn the ropes. Now, it seems ATL airport is functioning better. Its a new sunrise for ATL airport. No more mask requirements-Yea! Airport is near back to normal. You may find some restaurants with limited hours, such as One Flew South. Life is nearly back to normal for you frequent flyers.

• Except for the mask requirement, the ATL airport is back to normal. Plan your travel through ATL without any COVID related worries. Safe travels.
• COVID is winding down, traffic is picking up around the airport. There are many parking lots around the airport, read the Google reviews and check their website for additional charges if you are a bit late & other fine print. Park&Fly is a good choice. In the airport, double check sineage- ask people around you if something is confusing (99.9% of the people are helpful that I have encountered). ATL airport is one of the best in the world, it's on a path from good to great. Thank goodness CNN is no longer in your face everywhere!! (March 2023 update) Airport is busy as precovid days. Terminal A arrivals/ car shuttle pickup attendant is new, but belligerent as usual :) There are 2 Starbucks in Concourse "C". There is another one in "Concourse F" - Note: No ordering ahead. There are several other coffee places scattered around the airport- Caribou Coffe; Coffer Bean; Coffer Beneary, and the usual restaurants & fast food places. Probably the best review/ experience so far - everything was uneventful. ATL running like a well oiled Rolex. Kudos to the...