Connecting at Atlanta: one security line, one train, Delta's home

Last checked 30 September 2026

At Atlanta, the world's busiest airport, most connections tell the same story: you land, you take the Plane Train (or walk), and you never see a TSA checkpoint again. What changes is how far you have to go, and, if your first flight started abroad, how fast passport control moves and whether you'll need to go through security a second time.

At a glance

• Atlanta has two terminals. Concourses T, A, B, C and D make up the Domestic Terminal; Concourses E and F make up the International Terminal. Both are behind the same security.
• Domestic to domestic: stay behind security no matter which of Concourses T, A, B, C or D either flight uses. It's one connected zone, no second screening.
• Domestic to an international departure: same story. Concourses E and F are behind security like the rest, so heading out there's no second security check either.
• Arriving from abroad, connecting onward: you'll clear US passport control, collect and recheck your bags, and go through TSA screening again before you reach the rest of the airport. That's the standard routine at nearly every major US hub, not something specific to Atlanta. The exception: on select Delta flights from London Heathrow, everyone's bags transfer automatically with no recheck, and passengers enrolled in Global Entry or using the Mobile Passport app skip the second screening too. A separate arrangement — not the same program — covers some Delta and Korean Air flights from Seoul, where bags are screened before landing; whether those passengers still go through a second screening isn't confirmed, so check with Delta.
• ATL's passport-control wait is the shortest of any major US hub GateCast has data for.
• Overnight: the Plane Train usually runs all night, but is sometimes shut for a few hours for maintenance; then use the walkway and allow extra time.

One security line, one train

Hartsfield-Jackson's two terminals and seven concourses — T, A, B, C, D, E and F — are all connected behind security, so once you're through it a connection here almost never means leaving and coming back through it again. There are two ways to move between concourses: the Plane Train, an underground automated train running since 1980, or a parallel pedestrian tunnel with moving walkways if you'd rather walk or the train's down.

Delta has most of Concourses A and B and a large share of the rest. Every other domestic airline GateCast covers also has gates somewhere across Concourses T through D. Which letter you're on changes how far you'll walk or ride. It doesn't change whether you clear security again, because you don't.

The international side: Concourses E and F

International arrivals come in through Concourse F, or through a separate checkpoint at Concourse E for some connecting flights. After clearing US Customs and Border Protection, connecting passengers collect their bags, recheck them at the counters just past baggage claim, and go through TSA screening again before reaching the Concourse F Plane Train station or the pedestrian walkway. That's the same routine required at nearly every major US hub after an international arrival; ATL doesn't skip it.

The exception on London Heathrow flights: TSA runs an official trial here, and on select Delta flights everyone's bags transfer automatically, with no recheck needed. Passengers who are also enrolled in Global Entry or use the Mobile Passport app skip the second screening too and go straight to their gate. Not every LHR–ATL flight qualifies yet, so check with Delta.

A separate, unrelated arrangement covers some Delta and Korean Air flights from Seoul Incheon: US Customs screens bags remotely before landing, so they transfer without you handling them. This isn't the same TSA trial — it's a different Customs program that happened to start around the same time. Whether Seoul passengers still go through a second TSA screening isn't confirmed by an official source, so check with Delta rather than assume either way.

Of the major US hubs with published CBP wait-time data, ATL is the fastest for passport control: a typical wait of around 9 minutes, and about 23 minutes even on a slow day.

Late-night connections

The Plane Train usually runs all night, but is sometimes shut for a few hours for maintenance; then use the walkway and allow extra time. If your connection lands or leaves overnight, allow more time than the daytime schedule would suggest, in case the train isn't running when you need it.

Separate tickets

If your two flights are on separate bookings, you'll need to collect your checked bags, check in again and recheck them, the same as at any other airport. Plan for a full check-in, not just a walk or a train ride to the next gate. If you're arriving internationally with checked bags on a separate ticket, you'll also go through security again at the recheck step. The Delta shortcuts described above only apply to a single through-booking, so a separate ticket doesn't qualify either way.

Tips

• If the Plane Train isn't running, the moving-walkway tunnel is a fallback that still keeps you behind security.
• Landing internationally in the small hours, build in extra time for the overnight train schedule, on top of the passport-control queue and going through security again.
• Delta's scale here means a Delta-to-Delta connection is common and usually the simplest version of an ATL layover, but it's not the only story: every domestic carrier GateCast covers has a real presence at this airport.

Checked 29 September 2026, reviewed 30 September 2026. Terminals, concourses and train schedules change, so confirm with the airport and your airline before you travel.

Book hotels near ATL Sponsored