Atlanta Travel Forum

My nephew is traveling alone for the first time, and he will be transfering in Atlanta to continue on to Portland, Or. My question is, if someone out there can help me, is where do we find on the web if possible, what gate he will be coming into and what gate he will be departing from. Also, what the terminal layout is so he will know where he is going and how long he has to get to his next gate. I wish it would be as simple as coming in one gate and leaving out the in the neighboring gate, but as one who has traveled a few times, I know that is not the way it will be. Can someone please help us make this journey for him easier? Thankyou

You don't tell us much details. Where is he coming from? International? In that case all international arrivals arrive at Concourse E to pass immigration and customs. From there on the other concourses can be reached via the "people mover system", a train which runs very frequently (every couple of minutes).

http://www.atlanta-airport.com/Default.asp?url=sublevels/terminal/termmap.htm

Check also the airlines' website. (Delta?)

Atlanta is a big and busy airport but well laid out. If he is coming in on an international flight, he will likely come into concourse E. He may have to go through customs and immigration and claim his bag for recheck. However, whatever concourse he arrives at, it is simple to get to the others. As mentioned, there is a people mover which takes you to other concourses in just a 3 or 4 minutes. Apart from customs and immigration (if they are in play) it will be a very brief transfer. Also, the airport is well signed and will direct him where to go for whatever concourse. If he is on a domestic flight, he can move from arrival to departure gate in about 10 minutes no matter what concourses are involved.

Depending on his age, this would be among the worse possible airports due to size, congestion, and steep stairs.

Another consideration is that gates often change, so it always important to talk to the agent when coming off the first leg of his flight and confirm if the gate of his connection has changed. The gates are posted, but someone not used to watching the boards may not notice. It is also important to make sure they don't change gates while he's waiting at another gate.

If he is young, he should, and will, be escorted by a flight attendant.

Stairs are not a problem unless you mean escalators. There is no where you will have to climb stairs as there are escalators everywhere.

Tell him if he ever feels lost, ask any person at a departure gate and they can give him directions. I first started flying by myself about 4 years ago, and knowing that took away my worries. The most confusing thing he will have to deal with, is which stop to get off when he takes the underground shuttle thing.

Let's not make it more difficult than it is. When he learns the departure gate it will be a letter for the concourse (A, B, C, D or E) followed by the number of the gate. On the "shuttle thing" the concourses are announced and displayed on a large screen so it is not difficult at all. Upon leaving the train there is an escalator to take him up to gate level. At the top of the escalator there are signs indicating which way the gates are by number. It is really simple. Just read the signs.

>>Stairs are not a problem unless you mean escalators<<

yes, I meant escalators - thanks. The escalators are quite steep, and I have seen people approach these without a free hand, and then just wobble as they go down for a while. A fall, particularly going down, would be ugly.

Then again, we still don't know the traveler's age ...

Actually, it's also important to keep your eye on the *arrow* by the signs, as all of a sudden the sign to the escalator will point right instead of straight forward, and it could be easy to miss.

Your right, I didnt give much detail. He is flying from New Bern NC on a small flight, going to Portland, Or. Is there a web sight out there somewhere that will tell us what gate he will be coming in and departing from if we just plug in his flt. #?

Below is a link to the airport website which tracks flights for today. I don't know if it will tell you about future days or not. Even if it does, there are frequent gate changes as traffic is heavy. However, it will at least give you some idea on the day of the flight. I still think it will be easy. Just ask the attendant upon arrival for the departure gate number and follow the signs.

How old is your nephew? If he's a minor, he will have someone from either the airline or the airport escorting him as was stated earlier.

Once you see how the terminals are laid out, you will see that it is actually a very simple layout. It is just big and busy. If he is not changing airlines, then there is a decent chance that he will be in the same terminal unless it is Delta or AirTran as they operate out of most terminals.

As he is not arriving international, he should reasonably expect to be able to get from one gate to the other in under 10 minutes (after de-planing of course).

Oops, I forgot the site in my last posting. Here it is:

http://www.atlanta-airport.com/Default.asp?url=sublevels/terminal/termmap.htm

That's exactly the (same) website I posted in my (first) posting in this thread, Rex.
:-)
Noel

Sorry about that Noel. I should read a little more carefully.

Of course, if those links don't work, you could try http://www.atlanta-airport.com/Default.asp?url=sublevels/terminal/termmap.htm

;-) (sorry, it just had to be done.)

You are a devil, Chris.

Small commuter type flights only come in at a limited number of gates in Atlanta so if you know that airline, it could be narrowed down to a couple of gates that he will be arriving at. If he's traveling out on Delta, he could be leaving from any of the other terminals (including E - it's not just for international flights). Again, if he's under 15 he will have an escort and won't have to worry about any of this. If he's older than that he just needs to read the signs. It is one of the best signed airports I've been in.

Concourse E is the concourse for all international ARRIVING flights.