Atlanta Hartsfield Airport

We will avoid using this airport on future trips. They continuously move your departure gate and may or may not notify the passengers. Then when you are late because you did not know they take no responsibility for it. We ran all over that place due to constant changes. It is very poorly run although I have to say the staff are friendly and helpful for the most part. We missed our connecting flight because they changed the gate and we did not know and then they left early. We were however put on standby for the next flight 2 hrs later and got on it. We saw this happen to others when we were returning home and spoke to a lot of people who had the same frustrating experience. I felt the problem was totally the airport and others said they always have problems with Delta.

The security process from arriving off an international flight is the worse I have ever used or seen. It took 45 minutes to clear security then another 30 minutes for the baggage to be transferred to arrivals. I will never use this airport again if I can avoid it.

ATL's major function is providing domestic connections for Delta passengers and it does this fairly well with an efficient train system between concourses. OTOH the concourses are long and Delta customer service (such as it is) has been greatly cut back. Earlier this year I encountered a situation where the wrong type of aircraft had been provided (after a long delay and cancellation of flights before and after ours) and the ticket staff were less than gracious in dealing with the fallout. The food selection remains relatively unhealthy and the largest food court (outside of the main terminal) tends to be crowded. The selection of reading material is generally pretty awful but typical of Atlanta in general. CNN is loud and inescapable and the airport generally provides even less opportunity for peace and quiet than the average. Departure security is centralized and unpredictable but not quite as timeconsuming as it was 2-3 years ago. The "secret" North terminal alternative to the main terminal security has been closed--this had provided much faster screening because it was known only to people using the T terminal and carriers other than Delta. Baggage areas have been remodeled but there no longer is security to check tags. Beware of taxi operators who approach you in the baggage claim as they charge more than the ones in the queue outside. Expect taxi drivers to not know anything other than major hotels - bring mapquest-type directions to your destination. Long time Atlantans don't know much of the area either. Marta rapid transit service has gotten slightly better although the process of paying for fares with cards is cumbersome compared with the old token system. Marta is the best way to reach major hotels downtown in Midtown and Buckhead. Customer service is generally horrible in the airport although better with carriers other than Delta. Despite many years of living in ATL and much international travel I always cleared customs elsewhere (my int'l travel was mostly to Asia and on United so ATL was rarely feasible) my understanding is that international arrivals are variable and often unpleasant. The international terminal which used to be dismal is apparently being redone. Delays are common at this airport - the weather in the Atlanta area is volatile with downpours and thunder storms being quite common in Spring and summer plus Atlanta gets the back end of hurricanes in the fall. Often things will seem mild or only drizzly at the airport but will be violent somewhere in an nearby flight path and this will cause delays. Some delays occur because of problems elsewhere in an airline's hub/spoke system and this is particularly true of Delta which dominates the airport. Morning departures are more predictable and less prone to delay than afternoon or evening flights.

I was wondering if what I experienced was a one of a kind or a bad day. Apparently not. In Atlanta US Immigration Officials just get up and walk away when there are huge lines and don't come back for a long time and say nothing. One official yelled at a passenger for standing in line the wrong way and pointed at her like she was a dog. After about 200 people deep in line they finally opened some more windows to move us through. Then there is the re- screening to get out of the airport. I was screened three times to get on the plane and now I have to go to get Xrayed when I am getting ready to go home. The random selection is also pathetic.

Arrived after a 12 hour flight from Malta/London feeling nauseous and not that good. Little did we realise that it would take another 2 hours to get out of the airport! The usual interrogation at immigration then the inexplicable procedure of collecting your baggage only to have it taken away again with no explanation of how to collect it. Then another 45 minutes standing in line to go through security just to leave the airport. Can someone please explain why this is necessary as no-one seemed to have a good explanation as to why we had to suffer this ordeal. Then we were directed to a tube-train crammed with people and when we eventually arrived at the baggage reclaim there was our daughter and son-in-law (who live in the States and had come to meet us) standing with all our bags which they had collected for us!!! Some security - anyone could have walked off with it. I will never go there again - it was a nightmare and I still see no reason for it.

What a nightmare place! Immigration officials who suddenly leave their desks to go on a break without a word leaving a bewildered queue. Your luggage snatched away from you within seconds of retrieving it without any clear idea given of where or when you will ever see it again. Having to go through full security just to get out of the airport. Officials barking orders left right and centre. Never again if I can help it.

I have traveled through many airports over the years and employees of Hartsfield Airport are the rudest I have seen. They act as if they hate their jobs and bark orders at people. Customer service is not part of the job skill. It's a shame because the rest of the south have warm and welcoming people with great attitudes. I would not recommend going through this airport unless there is no other choice.

Went thru Atlanta from Frankfurt to San Diego. Customs was empty thus pretty fast though the USA treats its visitors like potential threats. Hand screen iris screen what is next? Footprints? Getting the checked in luggage took quite a while checking back was fast. Only downpart is the security check right after. Did not we just got off a plane? Anyway all facilities decent ground transportation is efficient and layover can be rather short without being afraid to miss connection.

Southern hospitality it was not at Atlanta Jackson-Hartsfield airport! Upon arrival from Amsterdam we reclaimed our baggage - and then told we had to queue and go through security again Plus we had our baggage screened and taken away from us to be reclaimed a second time around! What was the point? Were they afraid that passengers who got off after a safe flight might hijack the bus or something? I am all for security but this was craziness banking on paranoia. As far as I know no other US international airport does that. The staff at security and customs were also rude and unwelcoming shouting and ordering at passengers like badly-trained prison officers. I will avoid Atlanta Jackson-Hartsfield like the plague. The airport does not know how to make visitors feel welcome.

I have used this airport for over 20 years to catch connecting flights to PA. Only once did I use it for outbound international travel so have not experienced the inbound international travel situation as described by others (I re-entered the US via EWR). I have always encountered courteous employees throughout the airport and I think the layout of the airport was well-planned I especially like the subway that connects the terminal and all the concourses together. And I really like how you can go from concourse to concourse withOUT having to go through security again like I experienced at a major European airport. Also I like the many dining options available in every concourse. Rarely have I experienced any flight delays as I normally fly in the early morning hours to avoid any weather-related issues like those that usually occur in summer afternoons! Last month I chose to travel in the afternoon and sure enough our inbound flight was put into a holding pattern for approx. 15 mins and the outbound flight sat at the gate for 20 mins before backing out due to the local weather situation. Now with all that said the only real drawback I can find is the lack of moving sidewalks in the concourses. I do realize there are moving sidewalks parallel to the subway line but I think with the length of the concourses moving sidewalks would have been included as well!