One of Atlanta’s greatest selling points is that MARTA has a station inside Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
Collie Greenwood, MARTA’s general manager, touted the service in a recent press release discussing preparations for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup matches.
“MARTA is one of the only transit systems in the world that offers direct access to the airport, with a train station inside the concourse,” Greenwood said. “Soccer fans can go from the plane to the train to their hotel seamlessly and let MARTA drive them easily to and from the matches and other Club World Cup festivities around the city.”
But that’s not the case if you are flying internationally. MARTA only serves the Domestic Terminal – not the International Terminal.
Many of the people coming to FIFA soccer events in Atlanta — whether it is the 2025 Club matches or the 2026 World Cup — are expected to come from international destinations.
And that’s where the situation gets complicated.
Right now, the only viable option is to take the Atlanta International Shuttle Connector, a free shuttle between the Domestic Terminal and the International Terminal.
But the shuttle service has been criticized for numerous reasons. (A-National Limousine was re-awarded the contract last August with conditions to improve the service).
Often there are delays because shuttles travel along the crowded streets surrounding the airport. Or the buses get stuck in congestion at either terminal. Or the shuttles, which come in two sizes — some carry up to 18 people, and the larger one can seat 26 people — are full, requiring passengers to wait for the next one.
For an international passenger arriving in Atlanta, this is not the best first impression the city can make, especially for those who come from cities with robust transit systems.
Is there a better way? I believe there is.
We can and should improve the interface between the International Terminal and MARTA, not just for the World Cup but for the future.
Right now, officials from the city, the airport and MARTA are meeting monthly to talk about how to improve the customer experience in time for the World Cup.
“We are constantly looking at ways to improve the experience,” said Gus Hudson, assistant general manager of emergency management at Hartsfield-Jackson. “From our perspective, the shuttle provides a good service for our customers. Right now, this is the best solution we have.”
Better solutions exist, but they need to be vetted.
Transportation systems at the airport are complicated because they involve a host of players, from the airlines to the Transportation Security Administration to the city and MARTA.
- In an ideal world, we would find a way to extend the MARTA rail system to the International Terminal. Unfortunately, this is probably the most expensive solution because of the complexity of building a heavy rail line through the world’s busiest airport.
- Another idea would be to extend the elevated SkyTrain from the Domestic Terminal to the International Terminal. The SkyTrain currently serves the Gateway Center and the Rental Car Center with an elevated rubber-tired train-like vehicle that comes every two minutes during most of the day. Of course, that could not be built in time for the World Cup, but it would be a great long-term solution.
- MARTA also could run buses (coaches that could accommodate luggage) from the International Terminal to the East Point MARTA so that arriving international travelers could directly access Atlanta’s transit system. (MARTA currently has Bus Route #191 serving between Lakewood MARTA Station and the International Terminal, but it is not easily equipped to carry luggage, and buses only come every 45 minutes.)
- Explore the possibility of letting arriving international passengers recheck their luggage from Concourse F so they could pick up their bags at the Domestic baggage claim and permit them to ride the Plane Train from the International to the Domestic terminal. This solution is tricky because passengers must go through security before boarding the Plane Train, and once international passengers have gone through customs and immigration, they depart the “sterile” area.
It’s worth pointing out that before the International Terminal, Concourse F, was built, international passengers could recheck their luggage from Concourse E and ride the Plane-Train to the Domestic Terminal after going through customs and immigration.
Rhonda Allen, MARTA’s chief customer service officer and liaison for special events, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup, said the transit agency did have to contract with a coach shuttle operator last year when the Airport Station was closed for repairs.
When asked about the possibility of running a shuttle from the International Terminal to the East Point MARTA Station, Allen said no such service is included in the transit agency’s revamping of its bus network.
“Of all the projects that are currently funded and projects that could be funded, this is not on the list,” Allen said. “Another issue we have right away is that we don’t have any buses that can accommodate luggage.”
Hartsfield-Jackson’s Gus Hudson said there will be a marketing blitz to help passengers better understand all the available transportation at the airport, including the existing international shuttle system. Currently, there is no signage at the MARTA Airport Station directing people to the shuttle or the SkyTrain.
When asked about the possibility of rechecking luggage, Hudson said: “Once you get your bags, you are no longer in the sterile area. Once you are out of the secure area, clear customs, you can’t take the Plane-Train unless you are a connecting passenger.”
Hudson said airlines would have to be willing to recheck luggage from International to Domestic. For passengers to be able to ride the Plane Train, they would have to stay in the “sterile” area of the airport.
Morgan Durrant, a spokesman for Delta, did not provide much hope for that possibility.
“Checked bags that originate outside of the U.S. must be claimed for processing at Customs and then taken by customers to a recheck area for handling onto final destinations,” he wrote in an email. “There is no option to have Atlanta-destined checked bags moved to domestic baggage claim.”
On Sunday, I traveled to Hartsfield-Jackson by MARTA to ride the International Shuttle Connector to better understand its strengths and weaknesses. I wanted to talk to departing and arriving travelers about their user experiences.
Robin Ferede, who had traveled to Vancouver for a holiday, was on his way back home to the Netherlands, traveling KLM to Amsterdam.
When researching ground transportation at Hartsfield-Jackson, Ferede was pleased to learn about the Plane Train. But when he arrived at the Domestic Terminal, he was told he could not ride the Plane Train because he first had to check in at the KLM counter in the International Terminal. That meant his only option was riding the shuttle connector.
“It’s so frustrating. All the infrastructure is there,” Ferede said. “There are so many modes of transport. But none of them are convenient or available.”
Ferede did compliment MARTA for being able to ride by using his iPhone, and he appreciated having rail transit serve the airport’s Domestic Terminal for only $2.50 a ride.
The first shuttle quickly became full, and Ferede had to wait for the next shuttle, which came 19 minutes later. The ride between terminals takes about 13 minutes if the shuttles don’t get stuck in traffic. Fortunately, Ferede had given himself plenty of time to get to his flight, and he wasn’t in danger of missing his flight.
Rob and Raine from Chattanooga were traveling with their three small children to Barcelona. They were checking in with five large suitcases as well as three carry-on suitcases. They had stayed overnight in a downtown hotel, and they had taken a shuttle from the hotel to the Domestic Terminal. There was no shuttle from their hotel to the International Terminal.
“It would have been great if they had something that went directly to the International Terminal so we could have skipped this intermediate step,” Rob said. When asked why they didn’t Uber to the International Terminal, Raine said it was because the ride-share didn’t provide car seats for their young children.
They also were unable to board the first international connector shuttle because it was full, but they also made sure they had enough time to wait on another shuttle.
On the return trip, the shuttle driver was Blue, who had been with the company for nearly seven months.
“People don’t have to pay to ride,” he said about the shuttle service. Most delays with the shuttle happen when many international flights arrive at the same time, causing extra wait times. The shuttle Blue was driving did have to leave some folks. “There are two shuttles behind us,” he told them.
Again, I wondered if we are making the best first impression on our international guests.
I’m convinced we can do better.
“We try to come up with different ideas,” Hudson said. “We appreciate suggestions that people can provide so we can have better service for all of our travelers.”
Is it possible to make concourse T as international instead of concourse F?
T was the old international terminal decades ago. It does not have the infrastructure nor available gates or space for that. The airport management failed when F was built to design for this and the bus band aid approach has been a disaster since. People were waiting over an hour to get from the domestic terminal to the international terminal after dropping rent a cars off. And to truly demonstrate how corrupt airport management is.. Despite the shuttle contractor having repeatedly offwring subpar service that did not meet the contract terms they renewed the contract with better terms and dropped the rent a car center shuttle. Someone got paid off and travellers get screwed. Need a federal investigation and full forensic audit with those culpable charges and imprisoned for their obvious schemes!
Imagine the city we could have if our leaders cared as much about the people who live and work here everyday as they do about these soccer fans.
I experienced this clumsy, inconvenient, and time-wasting experience myself when I returned from South America early one morning in March. Had to wait for a shuttle bus at the International terminal, ride around in circles for 45 minutes to get to the pickup spot at the Main Terminal, at which point I could see from the bus where I needed to be to catch MARTA home but wasn’t allowed to exit the bus there while dozens of other travelers boarded my now over-crowded bus, then ride with them to the elevated, inaptly-named “SkyTrain,” where we all exited to wait for that train, rode it back to the SAME dropoff spot I had just been at, was allowed to exit this time and descend to ground level to walk across the path I could have taken and made it home much earlier! What a convoluted mess!
MARTA remains the worst run public transit system in the country, maybe the world. We need to fire the management, and decide to either invest properly or give up. Homes near transit stations sell at a discount to those a mile away. It’s insane.
Hartsfield-Jackson’s dysfunctional international terminal shuttle is symptomatic of the failure of US airports to modernize for efficient handling of transit traffic. Major European and Asian airports have transit zones that allow transit passengers to avoid immigration and customs checks when they move from one international flight to another. Secure areas are thought through and designed to minimize time wasted in duplicatibe screening. Often, even hotels are available in the secure areas. Its time major US airports which were often built before these design innovations are upgraded to the new global standards.
Small electric vehicles are used by many airports to move luggage from the planes to the luggage check so I do not believe the “buses cannot handle heavy luggage comment. So, that said simply build a tunnel between domestic and International. This will bypass all the traffic issues. Use electric vehicles (I think Georgia is a leader in golf carts and electric cars so use a Georgia manufacturer). Electric vehicles will require less ventilation in the tunnel and will cost be far less to construct and maintain than heavy rail.
not MARTA rather the straight up trash they have working for MARTA – lazy, arrogant trash let go by Spirit or Frontier
While it may be the most expensive 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.
While I would love for the extension to continue to Jonesboro that is more of a dream for sure. But a short link that follows Central Ave through Hapeville and curves to the International Terminal via MH Jackson Service Rd could happen if the area starts focusing on expanding rail transit and not these “pet projects” like BRT and light-rail because it’s the thing to do now.
I have had the displeasure of taking the pathetic transit “solution” from International back to Domestic to get my car several times over many years and each time it was worse than the time before. What’s stunning is the amount of wealth generated by the airport isn’t used to invest in ANY basic solution to this problem. Scolding the transit contract winners to “do better” smacks of backdoor dealing. Spend the money, build the damn tunnel for the train extension, or a whole new system, and show the world that we aren’t still tripping over our shoelaces when it comes to attempting to be world class.
Could a direct shuttle to college park station during the World cup similar to what was done during the airport station closure be a stopgap solution here? I also love the idea of marta expansion to hapeville
The problem here is absolutely not MARTA, but Hartsfield Jackson. They have the shuttle contract and they didn’t design the new terminal for transit. It is their problem to solve.
I just returned from Mexico and realized I had no good options for getting on MARTA. I waited 25 minutes for a shuttle and ended up spending $40 for an Uber. The other thing is the VERY LONG walk from the gate to the customs area. I have returned from India in the past exhausted. That walk is miserable. I hope the airport addresses all the issues you raised, Maria. Thanks for writing. Moni Basu
The obvious solution here is to do some internal construction to enable folks to go from customs directly back to the plane train – this is not rocket science!
When in customs you’re still in a secure area, you just need to reroute a hallway within the same building.
But it’s interesting how the airport dismisses this solution as “impossible”!
It may be that they don’t want checked bags carried through the terminal – but it strikes me that it’s cheaper to pay baggage handles to route luggage across to domestic than it is to run a whole separate bus service. No imagination sadly…
It’s a disgrace that the much vaunted “busiest airport in the world”, which the city loves to promote, can’t get this right. Just reroute the baggage back to domestic terminal – as previous person suggested. It isn’t that hard. Expensive maybe, but if you want to be a first class city get it done.