No easy fixes to connect passengers between International Terminal and MARTA

Last month I wrote a column about the inconvenience that arriving international passengers face when trying to access MARTA at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

The column, “Atlanta can improve interconnectivity between the airport’s International Terminal and MARTA,”  suggested potential ways to fix what one can best describe as a clumsy connection today. 

The existing Atlanta International Shuttle Connector, a free bus between the Domestic Terminal and the International Terminal, has been criticized for long waits and delays.

While writing that column, I reached out to three national experts who understand the interplay between airports and transit. I did hear back from them after the column had published. But because I found their insights so valuable, I wanted to share their perspectives with you. Nearly a dozen readers also made comments at the bottom of the column, offering ideas that can be explored by people who can make a difference.

Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst and president of Atmosphere Research Group, did not mince words.

“It’s inexcusable that the airport didn’t do a better job thinking about connecting Terminal F with the main terminal for locally arriving/departing passengers,” Harteveldt wrote in an email. “If the airport authority doesn’t come up with practical and convenient solutions, it will be responsible for leaving international visitors with an unnecessarily negative impression of Atlanta. That is nothing short of shameful.”

We have turned one of our greatest selling points — a MARTA station built in concert with Hartsfield-Jackson’s Domestic Terminal that has provided Atlanta with one of the best transit connections to an airport — into an embarrassment. 

Atlanta has always been sensitive to how it is perceived by outsiders. We are particularly vulnerable given that we’ll be hosting 2026 World Cup matches, which will attract thousands of international visitors. We currently are having a bit of a dry run with the hosting of Club World Cup matches through July 13, with MARTA promoting its service to visitors.

Brett Snyder, who writes the Cranky Flier blog and runs the Cranky Concierge travel agency, called it a “really tough situation.” Looking back, it would have made sense to keep all the ticketing and baggage claim at the Domestic Terminal.

“Now you have an airport with ticketing and baggage claim at opposite ends,” Snyder said. It would have made sense to keep all the infrastructure at the western side of the airport that had served arriving and departing passengers for decades. “So, what can you do about it?  Not much, I’m afraid.”

The built-in solutions would be expensive and difficult at best. Extending the MARTA line to the International Terminal, creating a parallel Plane Train between both terminals or expanding the SkyTrain to the International Terminal would require miraculous engineering by having to traverse the two ends of the world’s busiest airport.

Snyder concluded, after speaking to other industry experts, “that the only real solution is to improve the shuttle service.” Eventually, it would make sense to have dedicated bus lanes to make the shuttle more reliable.

“But if we’re just talking about the MARTA issue and not broader connections between the two sides of the airport, the most efficient is probably to just run that bus to East Point,” Snyder said. “You can get there from the International terminal more reliably with less traffic disruption, and it will speed up the trip for people heading north into town.”

Edward Russell, a freelance journalist who has covered airlines and public transportation for more than a decade, felt the best long-term solution would be to extend the SkyTrain, but he wasn’t sure on what would be the best alignment to go between the airport’s two bookends. 

Russell, however, said the Hartsfield-Jackson issue points to a larger national shortcoming.

“One frustrating reality of U.S. airport development is that airport and transit projects are often planned and funded separately,” Russell said. “This is what happened with the International Terminal in Atlanta. What abroad likely would have been one project [a terminal and transit connection] was just a terminal project.”

Russell compared it to when the Hartsfield-Jackson airport was built 45 years ago.

“The interesting thing is the midfield terminal in Atlanta, today the domestic terminal, was one of those rare U.S. airport projects planned with transit,” Russell said. “The MARTA station was built with the terminal years before the MARTA line actually reached the airport. Unfortunately, that forward planning did not carry over to the International Terminal project.”

In a comment posted at the bottom of my column, Bryan the Transit Supporter said: “This is a great opportunity to seriously reconsider the old Hapeville leg previously proposed by MARTA. There could essentially be two new stops after East Point — Hapeville and the International Terminal.”

Sadly, MARTA currently has no plans to expand rail in the region. And there is little cooperation and coordination between the City of Atlanta, MARTA and Hartsfield-Jackson to devise the best solution for our city, region and airport.

Harteveldt said the various international airlines that serve Atlanta can do a better job communicating the transportation options to travelers and make sure departing passengers allow “plenty of extra time” if they plan to take the connecting shuttle.

“Lastly, it would be very helpful if, during World Cup, Delta’s international airline partners, including Aeromexico, Air France, KLM, Korean Air, LATAM, SAS and Virgin Atlantic, could set up “satellite” check-in positions at the main terminal ahead of their departures, or allow Delta’s agents there to check-in their passengers, including checking luggage,” Harteveldt said.

The optimist in me would love to believe the various players would work together to find the best short-term and long-term solutions — to benefit not just our out-of-town visitors but for all of us who call Atlanta home.

“Unless Atlanta wants to end up with egg on its face from international visitors, the airport, its shuttle operator and MARTA need to start exploring options to better serve international visitors now,” Harteveldt said. “The clock is ticking, and time doesn’t go backwards.”

Russell agreed.

“The best solution would have been to include better ground access in the design of the international terminal when it was originally built,” Russell wrote in an email. “That said, as they say, the best time to plan and build a connection was yesterday, and the next best time is now.”