Atlanta: the shortest passport line, and a long way to the curb

Atlanta has the shortest passport lines of any big US gateway: 3.1% of arrivals waited over 30 minutes in the past year, and 0.3% over an hour. Then it takes the time back on the walk. From Concourse E, the typical domestic trip from landing to curb is about 40 minutes.

The train is the only way out of A to E

Baggage claim sits at the west end of the domestic terminal, and Concourses A to E reach it by the Plane Train. That puts them 11 to 29 minutes from the curb. Concourse T is 3 to 12.

Concourse F is 3 to 11, but it’s a different building. F arrivals leave through the International Terminal on the east side and can’t ride the train to the domestic claim. If you’re meeting someone there, make sure you’re at the right terminal: the two sides are a long drive apart.

For a carry-on in row 25, the typical trip is 25 minutes from T or F, about 35 from A, B or C, and 40 from E. A checked bag adds only about 3 minutes across the airport, because the bag often beats you to the belt. That bag figure is a judgement.

Passport halls E and F both run short

Concourse E’s hall had 2.0% of arrivals over 30 minutes, Concourse F’s had 4.9%. For a US passport the typical hour averages 5 minutes, and for visitors 8.

Frontier’s taxi runs long here

Delta, with about three in four flights, has a median of 8 minutes and a slow tail of 14. Southwest runs 6 and 10. Frontier runs 17 and 53, over 20,000 flights, the widest airline gap at any of the 30 busiest US airports.

So on a slow day, “landed” on a Frontier flight can mean about 40 more minutes than on Southwest.

Security is a morning and a mid-afternoon

Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays typically hit the top band between about 6 and 9 AM. Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays add a second stretch around 1 to 4 PM. Tuesday and Wednesday have no hour in the top band.

Of 13 lounges, 8 are Delta Sky Clubs. Priority Pass opens 2, both in Concourse F, so a domestic flight from A to E means a train ride out and back.

What this can’t tell you

Atlanta’s passport figure is partly about who lands here: 71% of arrivals hold US passports, and that alone shortens the line. Taxi figures cover domestic flights only.

I couldn’t confirm where rideshares and taxis load, so that’s left off this page. Check the signs on arrival.

The records can’t say why Frontier’s taxi runs long. Gate location is my guess at the reason.

Security bands are typical, not live, and not a guarantee. Walks are modelled from maps and nobody has timed them. Train waits are estimates.

Passport and taxi figures are measured. Security bands and walks are modelled. Bag time is judgement. Methods: landing to the curb, passport control, taxi-in.

Skycap counts the train and your concourse when it says when you should be at the Atlanta curb.

Typical security times are estimated from public passenger-throughput data. Not affiliated with any airport, airline or government agency.