Airport waits in Atlanta for international flights

I recommend 3 hours. I recently flew to Florence Italy in April and wait times were very reasonable. This was after the DHS funding fight.

For international flights, 3 hours is always recommended. Plus, they will start boarding about an hour BEFORE your departure, so around 2:30. We just went thru Atlanta 3 weeks ago on the way to Belgium.

We were there three hours before our flight and it was enough time to get through security, eat dinner,and still had plenty of wait time at the gate. Have a great flighf!

If you only have carry-on, have your boarding pass, and have TSA Pre-check, three hours is overkill.

You can go straight to security when you arrive at the airport.

Two hours should be fine.

I have never had any problems arriving at any airport 2 hours before flying, including TATL flights. This includes such busy airports as NY Kennedy, LAX, Amsterdam Schiphol, London Heathrow and Paris CDG. With that said, I don't recommend that others be as irresponsible as I am. Follow Delta's recommendation.

With that said, I don't recommend that others be as irresponsible as I am. Follow Delta's recommendation.

I am the same and usually 2 hours ahead of international flights. However, many times I do enjoy going in earlier if I know I can access a lounge before the flight to refill my water bottle and eat some light meal. Or to have enough time to get some food at the airport.

But if just going straight to plane, 2 hours is usually plenty for me. I am okay with that risk but agree that you should follow your airline instructions especially if not familiar with the airport.

With the caveat that I have only transited through Atlanta, never checked in at the airport, I would still allow a comfortable margin as recommended by the airline (usually 3 hours) especially if you are checking bags. FWIW, I've missed my connecting flight at ATL once, I've run through the airport to barely make my flight once, and I also had a 7 hour layover that felt rather magical after those two experiences.

Is this the trip with your granddaughter? I'd err on the side of not being too rushed. ATL is an enormous airport with a zillion places to eat and relax, make an experience of it. As noted your Paris flight will start pre-boarding about an hour ahead of departure so you'll want to be near the gate by then.

Delta's recommendation is for all passengers with checked luggage who go through slow security lines, NOT for those with TSA / Global Entry & no checked luggage! Personally, I always arrive at the check-in desk around 2 hours ahead, maybe 2.15 hours if I happen to beat the traffic. Two hours is plenty, PROVIDED you're leaving a margin of error for your travel time TO the airport?

If you are traveling with a minor, you will need to check-in at the desk even if you have boarding pass.
They will need to manually check documentation. If you are able to go through security without stopping at check-in, you will need to stop at the gate so they can check then. It has happened to me a few times when traveling international with my daughter.

We fly Delta most of the time and usually go through Atlanta airport. It is one of the best large airports for changing flights.
The terminals are all connected to an underground train called the "plane train." We have made connections that were less than an hour easily.
Since you are starting from Atlanta, not sure how bad going through security can be, but suspect it is not bad.
Three hours is way plenty. You might be able to do it on less, but why risk it.

We fly out of Atlanta all the time. Just be aware that the separate line for TSA precheck is not open in the international terminal from 10-2 because that is the least crowded time to fly out of Atlanta internationally. 3 hours is probably overkill but I don’t mess around with an international flight. We have gotten stuck before in unexpected traffic in Atlanta and it is not worth the stress. We always shoot for 3 hours and just go get something to eat or relax.

Two hours, especially if you check in online. The international terminal in Atlanta isn't the same part of the airport as the rest of the airport, and the lines there are always easy. The food options, however, are somewhat lacking (finally getting better, but not great). It moves well.