Atlanta airport's new international gates

Last week I was in Atlanta for an educational-industry tradeshow, and had a few extra hours on my homeward journey to explore that airport's new Concourse F.  I left very impressed with what they've built, and I think families traveling from the US southeast to the Asia/Pacific region are going to have a much better experience than previously.

For travelers who live in the area, you'll check in and go through security at the new International Terminal on the east side of the airport - which is directly connected to Concourse F.  (You'll come through the checkpoint at the bottom of this picture.)  Most families will be connecting from other cities, and to get to Concourse F you'll take the underground shuttle that links all the other gate areas. There are no extra security checks, and coming up from the shuttle, you'll see this view at the top of the escalator.

Like Concourses A through E, the middle portion is where you'll find most of the food and shopping, but here they've actually built enough space in the corridor so that people aren't running into each other as they move to their gates or enter and leave the shops.

Unlike the other concourses, there's also plenty of vertical space (and in the daytime, lots of natural light) to reduce feelings of being confined.  The extra space helps reduce stress - and makes it easier to herd children to where you need to be :)

Here's an overhead view of the central area - contrast this to Concourses A - D where the main corridor is only half this width, and where there's no atrium at all where you get off the shuttle train...

There's more room in the gate areas as well, compared to the other concourses.  Restrooms are conveniently spaced, and they've installed family-facilities as well.  There are food and retail options out at the ends of the concourse, too.

They've arranged some of the seating in the gate areas to create little islands where a family can group together and have some personal space, instead of being stuck in straight rows directly facing strangers.

A shortcoming ATL still hasn't addressed even in the new facility is the lack of play areas for young kids.  Perhaps they could replace their infamous "smokers' lounges" with some playground equipment?  Cartoon Network is headquartered in Atlanta; I'm sure they wouldn't mind pitching in with some kid-friendly space ideas...

Atlanta is a global hub, and flights depart and arrive at all times. This 777 is preparing to leave for Dubai, and at the next gate, the Buenos Aires flight was loading.

Korean Air now flies the Atlanta-Seoul nonstop twice daily, and will be using their big A380 on one of the flights beginning this spring. Delta also flies Atlanta-Tokyo from here daily. 

The food court is a two-story setup, with restaurants on both floors. Lounge chairs are spaced out on the first floor, and there are plenty of tables on the second floor.

Many options for eating at all different price points, and I like how ATL is beginning to incorporate more local businesses - like the famous Varsity hot-dog stand - throughout the airport.

On the homeward side, a problem that ATL had with their previous International setup was that arriving local travelers from overseas who were leaving the terminal after picking up their bags had to go back through security and ride the shuttle train all the way across the airport.  With the building of the dedicated International Terminal, this is no longer the case. Overseas flights arriving at either Concourse E or F now use one Customs facility, and local travelers may now exit straight outside.

This corridor runs underground between E and F so that connecting passengers don't have to take the shuttle train.  On the other side of this glass wall is a corridor for arriving international passengers to take to Customs, and from there, connecting passengers can take this hallway, or get right on the shuttle train for the other domestic concourses.

I'll be updating our Atlanta airport guide later this season - our family is taking a trip via ATL in a few weeks and I'll be able to get some daylight photos for more detail!