maximum inefficiency
After all was said and done, my husband and I looked at each other and said, “We are never flying through Atlanta again.”
Allow me to explain:
Last month, we flew from Virginia to France, connecting through Atlanta. We chose these tickets because they were a good deal. Neither of us has ever had problems flying through ATL, so we figured it would be fine. And it was.
That said, it was annoying to fly from Virginia to Georgia, just to change planes and fly north over our actual hometown and then up to Canada to cross the Atlantic to Europe. That was an extra three-ish hours we could have not spent in airports and airplanes.
So, by the time we flew back from France, we had already decided that flying to and from Europe via ATL was a waste of time and not worth even a less expensive airfare.
But then we actually landed in ATL from CDG and our decision was affirmed. Here’s what happened over the next two hours:
We landed and sat on the tarmac for 15-20 minutes before we could taxi to the gate.
When we deplaned in Terminal E, the departures board said we would be leaving from Terminal C. Meanwhile, the app said we were departing from Terminal D.
We zipped through passport control, thanks to Global Entry.
We bypassed the baggage claim and passed customs quickly.
At this point, we realized that we would have to go through security again, even though we just got off a plane. It was annoying, but we have TSA Precheck, so we figured it would be okay.
HA! There was ONE security line open for everyone, with a half dozen additional staff standing around and who theoretically could have opened up at least one other line. We were in line for more than 30 minutes.
After we got through Unnecessary Security, we checked the departures board again, which still said Terminal C, so we decided to go there, even though the app said Terminal D.
Instead of walking to the terminals, we waited for the plane train (yes, that’s what they call it at ATL) and zipped to Terminal C, passing Terminal D along the way. I’ll add here that the trains were operating on a reduced schedule, with longer-than-usual waits between trains.
We got off at Terminal C, only to see that the departures board now said we needed to be at Terminal D.
We went back to catch the plane train, where the board said the next one was 9 minutes away. We speed-walked to Terminal D.
At Terminal D, we zipped down the concourse to the correct gate and arrived breathless and sweaty. The gate sign said the departing flight was going to some place like Arkansas or Tennessee. As we stood there looking at the board with confusion and furrowed brows, several passengers asked, “Charlottesville?” When we said yes, they told us our flight had been moved to Terminal C. But of course.
Back we went, speed walking past the trains because we’d just missed one and the next one won’t be there until probably the 14th of Never.
Once again, we arrived in Terminal C, where the departures board still said we needed to go to D. We passed that and walked to the gate, arriving 5-10 minutes before we were theoretically supposed to start boarding. The sign did NOT say the flight was going to Charlottesville; in fact, it was blank.
We asked the gate agents, who had no idea what flight they were waiting for. They started checking their computer and making calls.
Meanwhile, more breathless, anxious, sweaty people arrived, having also just zipped over from Terminal D.
We waited a bit. Eventually, one of the gate agents announced that yes, the flight to Charlottesville would be departing from that gate. Some time after that, the gate board was updated.
More people arrived, all reporting that the departures signs and the app were saying we were leaving from Terminal D.
Eventually, our plane arrived and we boarded. By this time, we were past our scheduled departure time. Once we were seated, the flight crew announced that we would be waiting for other passengers to arrive from the other terminal and thanked us for our patience.
Eventually, we took off and made it home with no issues, thank effing goodness.
It was at this point that my husband and I said we’d never fly through ATL again. This was almost as stressful as the first time we flew back through Philly, only at least this time we didn’t have our children with us.
We said never, but the fact is that we probably will at some point for domestic flights. For international flights, however, we will do our utmost to avoid ATL. Even without the chaos and confusion, as I already noted, this is not the most convenient airport for us to connect through.
So anyway, that’s the story from our return three weeks ago. I feel confident that some of you have similar stories to share — and one of you I know has an identical story — so please share all the gory details.
I hate Atlanta and I grew up there. The airport is terrible. The traffic around the city is terrible. I’m in a bad mood every time I need to go through that location.