Delta Atlanta International to Domestic

[SCHappilyRetired]

Hello to all the experts! I have never gone through Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson airport but hear it is not the friendliest for connections. I will be coming in on a Delta Int'l flight and catching a Delta Domestic flight. As it stands now there is a flight with a 2 hr layover and one with a 5 hr. I do know all this can change. Flying Business. Do I bite the nails hoping the flight in is on time, everyone is happy at customs, tram/escalator working and I keep my cardio workouts going or play it safe, have a bite to eat and sit it out? If I play it safe and all works out that I can indeed get on the earlier flight, will Delta play nice and let me on? Thanks for your expert advise!

[CruiserBruce]

You should be fine with 2 hours.

[rwdtgb]

Like Bruce said I think you will be fine with the 2 hours.

[Ashland]

Agree you should be fine...I actually prefer to connect thru ATL when needed rather than many other places. Easy to navigate and some great places to eat ;)

[alcpa1]

I am no stranger to Hartsfield-Jackson.

You will arrive in either concourse E or F. You will have a hike to C & I where you will stop at a kiosk to scan your passport. Next you will pass through immigration and into the baggage retrieval area grab your bags and on to customs. When you reload your luggage on the carousel look up to a monitor to find your next concourse and gate. You will exit into the train tunnel and off you go.

Business class does provide a few extra minutes, global entry even more.

There are only two things that could delay you in this process. A customs inspection, random or otherwise, and multiple flights arriving at the same time. The last time we passed through there were only three flights in and the lines were manageable.

I would book the 2 hour connection if you are traveling when weather would not be an obvious issue.

[SCHappilyRetired]

Thanks everyone! This was my preferred time. Worst case is my niece lives 20 minutes from the airport so I can crash there! Thanks again.

[waterbug123]

Hello to all the experts! I have never gone through Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson airport but hear it is not the friendliest for connections. I will be coming in on a Delta Int'l flight and catching a Delta Domestic flight.

 

ATL is indeed huge, but it is actually not difficult to transit there. The concourses are all parallel to each other, and are all connected at their mid-point by the underground plane train. The train runs quickly and frequently; you shouldn't have to wait more than a minute between trains, and it's less than a minute from one concourse to the next. The concourses all have good signage, and with the exception of concourse E, restrooms are plentiful and generally easy to find. (There are several in E, but you have to walk a bit from the escalator to find them, and there's one hidden behind the Chinese food place in the corner of the food court than many forget about.)

 

I am no stranger to Hartsfield-Jackson.

You will arrive in either concourse E or F. You will have a hike to C & I where you will stop at a kiosk to scan your passport. Next you will pass through immigration and into the baggage retrieval area grab your bags and on to customs. When you reload your luggage on the carousel look up to a monitor to find your next concourse and gate. You will exit into the train tunnel and off you go.

 

A couple of clarifications:

One will USUALLY arrive into E or F from an international flight, but it depends on where the OP is beginning their journey. A few countries have pre-clearance for US immigration/customs, and arrive so flights from those places arrive in the US just as a domestic flight would, which means those planes could arrive at any concourse.

 

Also, after clearing customs upon arrival in the US, you have to go through TSA security before continuing on to your gate.