Connecting at Atlanta airport: concourses, customs and how much time you need

Atlanta is built for connections. All seven concourses (T, A, B, C, D, E and F) are linked inside security by an underground train that runs about every two minutes, and by a pedestrian walkway. On a domestic connection you never have to leave the secure area. Whether 1 hour is enough depends mostly on your first flight landing on time and how far apart your two concourses are. Arriving from another country takes much longer, because you clear customs and recheck your bags first.

How much time does the airport say you need?

Atlanta's airport doesn't publish a minimum connection time. If you booked both flights on one ticket, the airline sold you a connection that meets its own minimum for Atlanta, and it has to rebook you if a late first flight makes you miss it. On separate tickets, leave much more time. Read is a 1-hour layover enough?

Moving between concourses

• The underground train connects every concourse with the domestic and international terminals, running approximately every two minutes. The airport calls it the fastest way between concourses.
• A pedestrian walkway also connects the concourses, if you'd rather walk.
• You stay inside security. Passengers can reach all concourses and gates from any checkpoint.
• Check your concourse. The airport's own advice: confirm your concourse and gate, because terminals and concourses are easy to mix up. Your boarding pass and the departure screens show them.

Concourses T, A, B, C and D belong to the domestic terminal; E and F are the international concourses, but they're on the same train line.

Arriving from another country

At Atlanta you clear US immigration and customs in the international terminal:

1. Passport control in the customs and border protection hall on the arrivals level.
2. Baggage claim. Collect your checked bags, even if they're tagged to your final destination.
3. Recheck counters. Just past baggage claim, connecting passengers turn left to the baggage recheck counters. Passengers ending their trip in Atlanta turn right.
4. Security. As at other US airports, expect to go through TSA screening again before your next flight. Read international to domestic connections.
5. Train or walkway to your next concourse.

Two federal pilots apply to Atlanta:

• No bag recheck for passengers on flights from Incheon, whose bags are screened remotely.
• No TSA rescreening for passengers on selected flights from London Heathrow.

Tips for a short connection

• Check your next gate before landing, while you still have a connection or Wi-Fi.
• Sit near the front if the connection is tight.
• Don't leave the secure area. Everything you need, including the train, is inside security.

Follow the first flight

Add both flights to FlyingOver before you travel. You'll follow the first flight offline and see its estimated arrival, and with Premium, connection guidance shows at a glance whether your layover looks comfortable, whether you need to keep moving or whether you should go directly to the gate.