Can you leave Atlanta airport on a layover?
MARTA's Airport Station is inside the Domestic Terminal. ATL asks you to be back two hours before a domestic flight and three before an international one.
You can leave on a layover if you’re back at the airport two hours before a domestic flight or three before an international one. Those are ATL’s own figures. MARTA’s Airport Station is inside the Domestic Terminal, and Five Points is 17 minutes away on MARTA’s Gold line timetable. MARTA’s station page says 16 on average. ATL sits about 20 minutes south of downtown in normal traffic, per its maps page.
Leaving from a domestic arrival
ATL’s Plane Train story says the train carries arriving passengers to baggage claim as well as to gates, so the Plane Train is the way out.
- Ride the Plane Train from your concourse to baggage claim.
- Find Airport Station between the North and South baggage claims, per MARTA’s airport page.
- Board a Red or Gold train.
Our MARTA rail page lists the fares, and our MARTA guide has the first and last trains.
Leaving from the International Terminal
MARTA ends at the Domestic Terminal, so an international arrival has one extra step. After passport control and baggage claim, Atlanta-bound passengers turn right into the Arrivals hall, according to ATL’s FAQ. Connecting passengers turn left to the baggage recheck counters, which is the wrong way for this trip.
From the International Terminal you have two ways across. MARTA says a free shuttle runs 24 hours a day and takes 15 minutes between the terminals. It also says you can ride the Plane Train to the Domestic Terminal baggage claim stop. Our International Terminal shuttle page lists the stop on the Domestic Terminal side, outside baggage claim.
ATL’s pages don’t say what happens to a bag that’s checked through to your onward flight if you leave, so ask your airline before you go.
For a carry-on, ATL publishes no left-luggage or locker service. Ask one of ATL’s Customer Experience Representatives at the Domestic Terminal’s west crossover, and plan to carry the bag with you unless one tells you otherwise. The luggage storage page has the same advice.
Coming back, plan around ATL’s two or three hours
ATL publishes no other return times. Subtract that figure from your layover, then take off two MARTA rides. What’s left is your time outside, before you count the Plane Train rides and walks, which ATL doesn’t time.
ATL says only ticketed passengers are allowed through its checkpoints, and that passengers can reach every concourse and gate from any of them. The hours decide which one you use.
| Checkpoint | Hours |
|---|---|
| Domestic Terminal Main | 24 hours |
| Domestic Terminal North, Lower North and South | Open from 3:30 or 4 a.m., closed from 9 p.m. |
| International Terminal departures | 4:30 a.m. to midnight |
ATL posts live waits for each checkpoint, graded from Low at 0 to 15 minutes up to Extended at 60 or more. ATL says the busiest hours are 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. and the days around holidays and long weekends. Our security page lists each checkpoint’s lanes, and our guide to security waits explains how to read the live board.
Sources
- Our MARTA rail page, International Terminal shuttle page, security page, MARTA guide and guide to security waits
- MARTA’s airport page
- MARTA’s Gold Line page and timetable
- ATL’s maps page
- ATL’s Plane Train story
- ATL’s passenger security page
- ATL’s security wait times page
- ATL’s FAQ