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Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is located in the Atlanta, Georgia, USA metropolitan area, and is the busiest airport (in terms of passengers enplaned and deplaned) in the world, with Chicago's O'Hare as a rival. It accommodated 980,197 takeoffs and landings in 2005, and handled 88.4 million passengers according to projections. Many of these flights are domestic flights from within the United States where Atlanta serves as a major transfer point for flights to and from smaller East Coast cities. As such, it has been the subject of an old joke stating that it doesn't matter where one will go in the afterlife; they will connect through Atlanta to get there. As an international gateway to the United States Hartsfield-Jackson ranks seventh; JFK International in New York City is first.*

The airport is located partly within the southern city limits of Atlanta and is adjacent to the city of College Park, Georgia, which is south of the city limits of Atlanta. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the primary hub of Delta Air Lines and AirTran Airways. The airport is located within Fulton and Clayton Counties.

¹Statistics as of 2002

History

Hartsfield-Jackson had its beginnings with a five-year, rent free lease on 287 acres that had been the home of an abandoned auto racetrack. The lease was signed on April 16, 1925 by Mayor Walter Sims, who committed the city to develop it into an airfield. As part of the agreement, the property was renamed Candler Field after its former owner, Coca-Cola tycoon and former Atlanta mayor Asa Candler. The first flight into Candler Field was on September 15, 1926, a Florida Airways mail plane flying from Jacksonville. In May 1928, Pitcairn Aviation began service to Atlanta, followed in June 1930 by Delta Air Service. Later these two airlines, known as Eastern Air Lines and Delta Air Lines, respectively, would both use Atlanta as their chief hubs.

Candler Field's first control tower was opened March 1939 and in October 1940 the U.S. government declared it an air base. During World War II, the airport doubled in size and set a record of 1,700 takeoffs and landings in a single day, making it the nation's busiest airport in terms of flight operation.

In 1946 Candler Field was renamed Atlanta Municipal Airport. In 1948, more than one million passengers passed through a war surplus hangar that served as a terminal building. On June 1, 1956 an Eastern Airlines flight to Montreal, Canada was the first international flight out of Atlanta. In 1957, Atlanta had their first jet flight: a Sud Aviation Caravelle from Washington D.C. That same year, work on a new terminal was begun to help alleviate congestion. Atlanta was the busiest airport in the country with more than two million passengers passing through that year and, between noon and 2 p.m. each day, it became the busiest airport in the world.

On May 3, 1961, the new $21 million terminal opened, the largest in the country, being able to accommodate over six million travelers a year. The new airport was stretched past its capacity the very first year when nine and half million people passed though. In 1967, the city of Atlanta and the airlines began to work on a master plan for future development of Atlanta Municipal Airport.

Construction was begun on the present midfield terminal in January 1977 under the administration of Mayor Maynard Jackson. It was the largest construction project in the South, costing $500 million. Named for former Atlanta mayor William Berry Hartsfield, who did much to promote air travel, William B. Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport opened on September 21, 1980, on-time and under budget. It was designed to accommodate up to 55 million passengers per year and covered 2.5 million square feet (230,000m²). In December 1984 a 9000-foot (3km) fourth parallel runway was completed, and another runway was extended to 11,889 feet (3.6km) the following year.

In 2003, Atlanta's city council voted on October 20 to change the name from Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport to the current Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, in honor of former mayor Jackson who had died on June 23, 2003.

A recent article by Yahoo has stated the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, is not the busiest airport in the world, according to air traffic. Taken from the article "O'Hare registered 477,001 flights, down 1.3 percent from last year but still enough lead the list, according to the FAA. Atlanta registered 472,431 flights, down 5 percent."

Layout

Hartsfield-Jackson International is the chief hub to Delta Air Lines and mostly handles air traffic to other parts of the United States and Canada. Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport has international service to Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. It has two terminals where persons check in, the North Terminal and the South Terminal. They link to a main terminal for security screening, before passengers head to Concourse T, or to the underground train.

Six concourses exist for passenger boarding. Moving sidewalks and an underground "people mover" train made by Bombardier connect the concourses, and the terminals building. Concourse T is attached to the terminal, and was formerly for international flights, before Concourse E was built prior to the 1996 Centennial Summer Olympics.

Hartsfield-Jackson also has its own train station on the city's rapid transit system, MARTA. The above-ground station is inside in the main building, between the north and south terminals on the west end. Built as part of the airport, it was not connected until the south line could be extended to it in 1988. It is currently the southermost point on MARTA, though there are talks of adding a second station for a planned second terminal. This could possibly be a substitute for adding a second people-mover.

Expansion

Major construction projects are underway at the airport during the 2000s, each part of an overall expansion plan costing several billion dollars.

A fifth runway has been constructed and has opened on May 27, 2006. It bridges Interstate 285 (the Perimeter) on the south side of the airport. The massive project, which involved putting fill dirt eleven stories high in some places, destroyed some surrounding neighborhoods, and families will only be able to visit two cemeteries on the property occasionally. At the cost of $1.28 billion, this 9,000 foot runway is the first addition to the Atlanta airport since 1984. The fifth runway is expected to increase the capacity for landings and take-offs by 50%, from an average of 98 flights per hour to 140 flights per hour.

In July 2003, current Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin announced a second international concourse, which will also have its own terminal. The new terminal will be called the Maynard Holbrook Jackson, Jr. International Terminal. It was slated to open in 2006, however time and cost overruns led general manager Ben DeCosta to cancel the design contract in August 2005. The very next day the company sued the airport claiming "fraud" and "bad faith", blaming the airport authority for the problems. This will likely push back the terminal's completion to 2010. *

Also scheduled to be completed for 2010 (though it too may be pushed back now) is a South Gate Complex, a new terminal south of the current terminals. The new terminal is expected to include approximately 31 gates.

The site for the Consolidated Rent-A-Car (CONRAC) facility which will be done by 2009, will house all Airport rental agencies plus a automated people mover that will connect passengers to the Gateway Center of the Georgia International Convention Center and The Car Rental Center is also being prepared for construction and the thirty-five year old Runway 8R-26L will be replaced in the fall. *

There have been concerns that income to cover the cost of these projects may decline due to Delta's bankruptcy filing. Delta passengers account for a majority of those passing through the airport.

Check-in and baggage claim

North Terminal

South Terminal

Maynard Holbrook Jackson, Jr. International Terminal

  • (to be built in 2010+)

This is to be located on the east side of the airport, near the Delta Air Lines Jet Base, on a site that has been occupied by air cargo facilities and the midfield control tower. The airport transit system will be extended to connect to the new terminal. Unlike the present situation, arriving international passengers whose final destination is Atlanta will be able to retain possession of their baggage as they proceed to exit the airport.

South Gate Complex

  • (to be built in 2010+)

Departure and arrival halls

Concourse T

  • American Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami, New York-LaGuardia)
  • Delta Air Lines (Domestic and Transborder) (Albany (NY), Albuquerque, Anchorage (seasonal), Austin, Baltimore/Washington, Birmingham (AL), Boise, Boston, Bozeman (seasonal), Buffalo/Niagara Falls, Burbank, Calgary (seasonal), Charleston (SC), Charlotte, Chicago-O'Hare, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Cleveland, Colorado Springs, Columbia (SC), Columbus (OH), Dallas/Fort Worth, Dayton, Daytona Beach, Denver, Detroit, El Paso, Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood, Fort Myers, Fort Walton Beach, Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem, Greenville/Spartanburg (SC), Gulfport/Biloxi, Hartford/Springfield, Honolulu, Houston-Hobby, Houston-Intercontinental, Huntsville, Indianapolis, Jackson (MS), Jackson Hole (seasonal), Jacksonville (FL), Kahului, Kansas City, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Lexington, Little Rock, Los Angeles, Louisville, Melbourne (FL), Memphis, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Mobile, Montréal, Myrtle Beach, Nashville, New Orleans, Newark, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia, Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Oakland, Oklahoma City, Ontario (CA), Orange County (CA), Orlando, Palm Springs (seasonal), Pensacola, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland (OR), Providence, Raleigh/Durham, Reno/Tahoe, Richmond, Rochester (NY), Sacramento, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose (CA), San Juan, Sarasota/Bradenton, Savannah, Seattle/Tacoma, Steamboat Springs (seasonal), Syracuse, Tallahassee, Tampa, Toronto, Tucson, Vail (seasonal), Vancouver (BC), Washington-Dulles, Washington-Reagan, West Palm Beach)
  • United Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare, Denver, San Francisco)

Concourse A (Delta)

Concourse B (Delta)

Concourse C

  • AirTran Airways (Akron, Baltimore/Washington, Bloomington, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago-Midway, Dallas/Fort Worth, Dayton, Denver, Detroit, Flint, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Grand Bahama Island, Gulfport/Biloxi, Houston-Hobby, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Moline, Newark, New Orleans, Newport News, New York-LaGuardia, Orlando, Pensacola, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Raleigh/Durham, Richmond, Rochester, San Francisco, Sarasota/Bradenton, Savannah, Seattle/Tacoma, Tampa, Washington-Dulles, Washington-Reagan, West Palm Beach, White Plains, Wichita)
  • Delta Air Lines
    • Delta Connection operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines (Aguadilla, Akron/Canton, Albany (GA), Albany (NY), Alexandria, Allentown/Bethlehem, Appleton, Asheville, Atlantic City, Augusta (GA), Austin, Bangor, Baton Rouge, Birmingham (AL), Bloomington (IL), Brunswick, Buffalo/Niagara Falls, Burlington, Cedar Rapids/Iowa City, Charleston (SC), Charleston (WV), Charlotte, Charlottesville, Chattanooga, Chicago-Midway, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Cleveland, Columbia (SC), Columbus (GA), Columbus/Starkville (MS), Corpus Christi, Dayton, Daytona Beach, Des Moines, Detroit, Dothan, Erie, Evansville, Fayetteville/NW Arkansas (AR), Fayetteville (NC), Flint, Florence (SC), Fort Walton Beach, Fort Wayne, Freeport (Bahamas), Gainesville (FL), Grand Rapids, Green Bay, Greenville/Spartanburg, Guadalajara, Gulfport/Biloxi, Harrisburg, Houston-Hobby, Houston-Intercontinental, Huntsville, Indianapolis, Jackson, Kalamazoo/Battle Creek, Kansas City, Killeen September 7, Key West, Kinston, Knoxville, Lafayette, Lansing, León Dec. 1, Lewisberg/Greenbrier (WV), Lexington, Little Rock, Long Island/Islip, Lynchburg, Macon, Madison, Manchester (NH), Marathon November 16, McAllen, Melbourne, Memphis, Meridian, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Mobile, Moline/Quad Cities, Monroe, Monterrey, Montgomery, Montréal, Myrtle Beach, Naples, Nashville, New Orleans, New York-JFK, Newport News/Williamsburg, Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Ottawa, Panama City, Pensacola, Peoria, Pittsburgh, Ponce, Portland (ME), Providence, Providenciales (Turks and Caicos), Raleigh/Durham, Richmond, Roanoke, Rochester (NY), St. Croix, St. Louis, San Antonio, Savannah, Shreveport, Sioux Falls August 7, South Bend, Southern Pines/Pinehurst, Springfield/Branson, Syracuse, Tallahassee, Toledo, Toronto, Traverse City, Tri-Cities (TN), Tulsa, Tupelo, Valdosta, Washington-Dulles, Washington-Reagan, White Plains, Wichita, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Wilmington (DE), Wilmington (NC))
    • Delta Connection operated by Chautauqua Airlines (Columbus (OH), Columbus/Starkville (MS), Houston-Hobby, Knoxville, Long Island/Islip, Louisville, South Bend)
    • Delta Connection operated by Comair (Akron/Canton, Burlington, Chicago-Midway, Dayton, Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem, New York-JFK, St. Louis, San Antonio, Toronto, Tulsa, Washington-Reagan)
    • Delta Connection operated by Shuttle America (New York-JFK, San Antonio)

Concourse D

International Concourse E

  • Air France (Paris-Charles de Gaulle)
  • Air Jamaica (Montego Bay)
  • British Airways (London-Gatwick)
  • Delta Air Lines (International) (Acapulco, Amsterdam, Antigua, Aruba, Athens (seasonal), Barbados, Barcelona (seasonal), Belize City, Bermuda, Bogotá, Brussels, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Cancún, Caracas, Copenhagen, Cozumel, Dakar (starts December 4, 2006), Dublin, Düsseldorf, Edinburgh, Frankfurt, Grand Cayman, Guadalajara, Guatemala City, Guayaquil, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Johannesburg (starts December 4, 2006), Kingston, Liberia (CR), Lima, London-Gatwick, Madrid, Managua, Manchester (UK), Mérida, Mexico City, Milan-Malpensa, Montego Bay, Moscow-Sheremetyevo, Mumbai, Munich, Nassau, Nice (seasonal), Panama City, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Providenciales, Puerto Plata (starts December 15, 2006), Puerto Vallarta, Punta Cana, Quito, Rio de Janeiro-Galeão, Roatán, Rome-Fiumicino, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, San José (CR), San José del Cabo, San Pedro Sula, San Salvador, Santiago de Chile, Santo Domingo, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Shannon, Stuttgart, Tel Aviv, Tokyo-Narita, Venice (seasonal), Zürich)
  • KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (Amsterdam)
  • Korean Air (Seoul-Incheon)
  • Lufthansa (Frankfurt)

International Concourse F

This is to be located on the east side of the airport, near the Delta Air Lines Jet Base, on a site that has been occupied by air cargo facilities and the midfield control tower. The airport transit system will be extended to connect to the new terminal. Unlike the present situation, arriving international passengers whose final destination is Atlanta will be able to retain possession of their baggage as they proceed to exit the airport.

South Gate Complex

To open in 2010+

Cargo airlines

Trivia

  • Fifty-seven percent of Hartsfield-Jackson's airport passengers do not stay in Atlanta, but go on connection flights elsewhere.

  • Denver International Airport is based somewhat on Atlanta's concourses and transportation systems. A system of tramways (the same Bombardier series of trains) connect the Terminal with the three concourses, Concourses A, B, and C. The only pedestrian way of transportation, however, is the sky bridge between the Terminal and Concourse A. Denver's airport, also, does not have a Concourse T in the Terminal.

External links

1979 establishments | Airports in Georgia (U.S. state) | Buildings and Monuments Honoring Alpha Phi Alpha Men

Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport | Aeropuerto Internacional Hartsfield-Jackson | Aéroport international Hartsfield-Jackson | Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport | ハーツフィールド・ジャクソン・アトランタ国際空港 | Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport".

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