ok so i literally just landed at atlanta hartsfield-jackson and honestly my head is still spinning from trying to figure out this whole connecting flight thing its like a city unto itself a really really big city and if you have a layover here especially if its tight you need a game plan because this place will just swallow you whole and spit you out confused and sweaty and thats not fun for anyone.
i mean seriously its massive its got like seven concourses A B C D E F and then there is the T concourse which is basically attached to the main terminal and they are all spread out and trying to get from like a C gate all the way to an E gate feels like an olympic sport and you gotta ride the plane train which is pretty efficient i guess but still its a whole thing its not like lax where you can just kinda walk outside and grab an uber its all internal and very intense and busy.
The connection game plan
so basically first thing you need to do is look at your boarding pass and really understand where you are arriving and where you are departing because its not always obvious especially if you got those codeshares and stuff and honestly the gate numbers can be super confusing because its like C12 and then C87 so its not like they are all in order or anything its just a mess so double check the gate and the concourse and then figure out your route and its usually concourse to plane train to concourse and then walk forever but at least the plane train is usually pretty fast and frequent.
and dont just rely on the screens they sometimes lag or change so have your airline app open and check it constantly because gates can and do change here and then your literally sprinting to a different concourse because your flight just moved and thats just not what you need after being cooped up in a plane for hours.
Do you have enough time?
this is the million dollar question honestly and the answer is usually no if you have less than an hour and a half and you have to change concourses especially if your arriving international or leaving international its just asking for trouble i mean really its a gamble and a half and i would never recomended it its just too much stress.
if you have an hour and you are staying within the same concourse and its a domestic flight you might just barely make it but honestly its still pushing it you really want at least 90 minutes for domestic to domestic and for anything involving international you need like a solid two to three hours seriously because there is just so much extra stuff you gotta deal with like customs and security and its just a time suck.
- the baggage hassle:
- if your on a domestic to domestic connection usually your bags are checked through to your final destination so you dont have to worry about them but its always good to confirm at check-in or when you land here to be super sure.
- if your arriving internationally and connecting to a domestic flight then you absolutely positively have to pick up your checked bags clear customs and then re-check them at the transfer desk right after customs its non-negotiable and it takes time.
- if your flying international to international it sometimes depends on the airline and specific route some will check them through some wont so you really need to verify this because if you have to pick up them thats a huge chunk of time added to your layover.
- carry-on bags are always with you obviously so thats one less thing to stress about but getting them through security again can be a pain.
- clearing security all over again:
- for most domestic to domestic connections if you stay airside you generally dont have to clear security again which is a huge relief and a time saver but if your next gate is in a totally different terminal area or you accidentally leave secure you are back in the line.
- if you arrive internationally and are connecting to a domestic flight you will 100% have to clear security again after you have picked up your bags and cleared customs there is literally no way around this so factor in that massive queue time it can be brutal.
- if you are flying international out of atl and your coming from a domestic flight usually you would have already cleared security to get to the domestic part but if your international gate is in terminal F sometimes you need to get to that specific terminal and reclear security depending on how its all set up its confusing honestly.
- having tsa precheck or global entry is an absolute godsend here honestly it literally cuts down so much of the stress and time if you qualify for it get it because atlanta security lines can be legendary.
so basically always give yourself more time than you think you need especially at atl its not like some of the smaller regional airports where a 30 minute connection is somehow possible this place is just too big and too busy and too important to risk it and the food options are everywhere but they can be expensive so grab a snack if you have time but dont spend too much time wandering around because your next plane will not wait its just a very intense experience and i hope this helps someone not lose their mind like i almost did just now.