Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is an incredible mall, I mean, airport. Seriously, it’s huge. It’s the largest and busiest airport in the entire world. Therefore, if you’re flying in or out of it, there are a few things you need to know.
Known simply as “Atlanta Airport” or “ATL”. The Atlanta Airport has been serving Atlanta since the 1920s. It’s located in the southern part of the city a little ways away from the downtown area. Traffic can get crazy so if you’re driving from the airport to any of the northern suburbs, you’ll be driving for a while. I’ve flown in and out of this airport more times than I can count, not including layovers. I’ve had my fair share of adventures in this airport, I’d like to teach you a small portion of what I’ve learned.
1. Plenty of food and shopping
The Atlanta Airport boasts 109 shops and 93 restaurants. It told you, it’s basically a mall! There’s no shortage of all kinds of food. Even in the smallest terminals, you can find anything you need. Whatever you want to eat and whatever you want to buy, you can find it at this airport. Guys, there’s even a Ferragamo.
2. Abundance of seating
The airport may be the busiest, but since it’s also the largest so it doesn’t feel congested or crazy. As a bonus, the entire airport is one huge, free hotspot. The WiFi is free and surprisingly fast. There is also plenty of seating. Nothing fancy or out of this world, but any kind of seats are good when you travel. Atlanta also has its fair share of outlets. Again, nothing crazy but you shouldn’t have trouble finding an outlet to plug into.
3. Get anywhere, fast
Don’t let it’s large size intimidate you. The tram system is simple to use and really effective. You can get anywhere, fast! Best of all, you can go from terminal to terminal without ever leaving security. This may seem trivial, but when you have a short time to make a connection and you have to unexpectedly leave security, this can result in missing your flight! I’m speaking from experience here.
4. Expect delays
I may be personally jaded on this one. I’ve had negative experience over negative experience with Delta. They can’t seem to get things right on any of my flights. It seems like every time I have a layover in Atlanta, my flights get delayed or cancelled. I’ve been stranded there and rerouted more times than I care to talk about. Lately, I do everything I can to avoid Delta flights through Atlanta. There’s an American Airlines saying that goes, “On the way to hell, you have to stop in Atlanta”.
Final Rating
There are a few things I look for in airports. Accessibility to corresponding city, ease of transport within the airport, comfort (seating/plugs/shopping), food, and the wildcard. The wildcard is something unique that helps or hurts the airport.
The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International airport receives an 7 out of 10.
I barely gave it a 7, it has so many positive attributes that brought up the score. I really wanted to rate it a 4 or a 5. The wildcard is simply the negative experiences I’ve had with Delta. It may not seem fair to give the airport a lower rating because of an airline, but Delta is synonymous with the Atlanta Airport. Atlanta is Delta’s hub, therefore, the 19.5% of flights delayed that Atlanta has can be mostly attributed to Delta. Think about that, a flight coming out of Atlanta has a 1 in 5 chance of experiencing a delay. With the average delay being 50 minutes, Atlanta can be attributed with delaying hundreds of other airports, also. Think twice before connecting in Atlanta!
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