Atlanta's New International Terminal

My experience in June, arriving....the terminal is large, and it seems as though miles must be rraversed from the gate to the exit. No luggage carrriers were available...some of the 'moving sidewalks' but not enough. I had a wheel chair (bad knees) and the attenendant was breathless by the time we reached the exit from the terminal. From there we took a shuttle bus (senic ride maybe?) to the old terminal an to parking and shuttle pickup. Apparently they have made some efforts toward improving the on site shuttle service. But, it is apparent no consideration was given to the arriving passengers who were to end their trip in Atlanta. I understand that there is a tramway from the new to the old if you are conintuing on to aother desitnation. Is it better than the old? Yes...could there have been more thought in designing it? Definitely.

You actually access it from I-75 South now. Just take 285 to 75S. There is signage everywhere so it's hard to miss. I haven't used these myself but they have hourly/daily parking deck and an off-site parking lot (cheapest) dedicated just for International. I have used one of the private off-site lots before and they dropped me off at the international terminal. I've been through there a few times since it opened and the lines for security/customs were different every time. If you land at the E terminal and Atlanta is your final destination, you have to walk all the way to F to go through customs and it's a very long walk. The lines all seemed much longer than the one at E. All in all, I think it's better if for nothing else, not having to re-check baggage. Good luck! Here's a good article that might help you out too:
http://theticket-atlanta.com/2012/05/10/qa-with-atl-about-new-international-concourse-f/

Have you already seen the layout for the international terminal? The map shows exit doors to parking and to ground transportation, so I would assume you don't have to go all the way to the main terminal for those things. It also shows ticketing and security in the wing next to the parking, so supposedly you could go directly to the Int'l terminal by car.

Thanks, Lee, but I was referring to access from I-85 to the closest long-term parking for the new terminal. Overall, I would like to hear about people's experiences going through the new terminal,compared to the old one.

Roy,
This was accurate as of several months ago but may have changed. If your flight will leave ATL, stop anywhere in the U.S., and then go abroad, you will still use the old terminal. You will depart ATL from the new international terminal ONLY if you have a direct flight out of the country. There is SUPPOSED to be long term parking over by the new terminal off I75 but I've not used it. If you do park over by I85 as before, just take the shuttle to the old terminal and then catch the AIRPORT shuttle from just outside the old terminal to the new terminal. If is located in the area by the local shuttle busses. Check in and security are not bad at all. Maybe easier than the old terminal. The good thing about the new terminal is it is relatively quite. The downside is the limited places to eat. A chilli dog from the Varsity is not the best thing to eat before a long flight. However, you can take the plane train back of to Concourse E, get a bite and then take the train back. You might google "Atlanta Internationl Terminal" or something similar. They did have a very good web site when the new place opened but I don't remember the url. Hope this helps. TC

We have been through the new terminal twice and both times used Marta. It has been many years since we have parked in a AHJ ap lot-we use the off site places and shuttle over. Luggage is collected in the new terminal and as a poster said it is a very long walk to the baggage area and there are no trolleys available. This seems really ridiculous and is rarely something you would have to cope with in a European airport. There are some decent restaurant options in the new terminal but our favorite place is on Terminal B so we are willing to back track to it. Check in and security went quickly. Returning home we had to use the shuttle which takes you back to the main airport(20 min ride) which is necessary if you are using Marta. Initially the shuttle was a smaller van which held 14/16 people but our recent experience was a full size bus is now used.

I flew through on a long layover. The biggest thing I learned was that it is faster to get from the international side of the airport to the domestic side with the underground trains. The ATL website recommended to use their shuttle bus, which I did the fist time (15 minutes). The next time (on the flight back home) I took the train (less than 10 minutes) and did not have to go back through security.