ATLAirport Guide

Delays at ATL: where to wait for a seat, food or a lounge

Where to wait out a delay at ATL: a seating area and five restaurants in Concourse C, all-night food in C, D and E, and a lounge day pass at $40 to $50.

A dark grey padded bench seat runs along the tall windows of a food court seating area at Atlanta airport, with a white table in front of it and the apron softly out of focus beyond the glass.
Window seating at The Connection on Concourse C, Atlanta airport

The Plane Train links every concourse, so you can wait out a delay away from your gate. The Connection, the food court at the center of Concourse C, has the seating area ATL describes. After 10 p.m., food stays open all night in Concourses C, D and E.

A seat with an airfield view

ATL says The Connection has a large seating area with big picture windows over the airfield. A 2019 story on its opening says order kiosks there take an order for any of its restaurants: SaladWorks, Great Wraps, Leeann Chin, Bantam & Biddy and Krispy Kreme. Krispy Kreme closes at 9 p.m. (the airport’s terminal map adds “or last flight”), and the other four at 10 p.m.

ATL’s pages don’t say anything about seating at the gates themselves, so The Connection’s seating is the one to plan around. Our dining directory lists every other restaurant by concourse.

For somewhere quieter, ATL lists one sensory room, on Concourse F, and our sensory rooms and quiet spaces guide covers who opens it. The Concourse E chapel is at the top of the escalator on the right, behind the Martin Luther King, Jr. exhibit. The Concourse F chapel is in the International Terminal atrium, on the second floor. Both chapels are past security and open 24 hours. A third chapel is on the third floor of the Domestic Terminal atrium, before security.

If the delay runs past 10 p.m.

Concourse Open 24 hours Where
C La Madeleine Next to Gate C40
D Einstein Brothers Bagels Concourse center
D Roast Near Gate D26
E McDonald’s Concourse center

Concourse A has the Travel@Ease shop at its center, open 24 hours and listed with snacks. The McDonald’s next to Gate A11 closes at 11 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and stays open 24 hours on Friday and Saturday. In Concourses B, F and T, ATL’s all-night listings are vending machines, ATMs, a currency exchange and Minute Suites rather than restaurants. ATL doesn’t say what most of the machines hold. The Starbucks in the Domestic Terminal’s North East Atrium is listed open 24 hours.

Lounges for a long wait

The Club at ATL, on the mezzanine of Concourse F, suits anyone without an airline club. ATL’s amenities page lists day passes at $40 and says the lounge serves British Airways, Lufthansa, Priority Pass, Lounge Club and Diners Club International. The Club’s own page shows $50 for one adult. Anyone departing can buy a pass, subject to availability, whatever the airline, and entry opens 3 hours before departure, or 2.5 hours with Priority Pass or LoungeKey. If your flight slips while you’re inside, you can stay until closing.

Delta Sky Club has a club in Concourses A to F and T. Delta says its Concourse D club has more than 500 seats, the most of its Atlanta clubs, along with private phone booths and charging stations. Delta lets you into a Sky Club within 3 hours of your scheduled departure, and connecting customers can enter at any time before departure. Entry depends on space being available, you need a same-day boarding pass and a qualifying way in, and Delta Main Basic tickets aren’t admitted. A delay doesn’t end your access if you went in within 3 hours of the original departure time. Concourse T also has an Admirals Club and a United Club. The Centurion Lounge by American Express is beside Gate E11 in Concourse E. Our lounges page lists who gets in to each.

ATL’s amenities page gives 11 p.m. as the latest closing for its club lounges. For a longer night, Minute Suites near Gate B24 in Concourse B and next to Gate F6 in Concourse F are listed open 24 hours as lounges. Any traveler inside the terminal with a same-day boarding pass can book one, subject to availability, and Minute Suites prices by the suite, not per person, with a one-hour minimum.

Charging up and getting around

FuelRod kiosks next to Gate C22, near Gate C36 and east of the center of Concourse E are open 24 hours. You’ll swipe a credit card or use the FuelRod app to take a portable charger, and ATL’s terminal map tags a charging station at 12 lounges, but ATL lists no gate-area seats with outlets. Its lactation pods have bench seating and an outlet, and ATL describes them for nursing or pumping. ATL says ATL Free Wi-Fi reaches virtually any spot in the airport.

In a 2018 story, ATL said the Plane Train runs 24 hours a day, overnight as a two-train shuttle, with one maintenance shutdown at 1 a.m. on Wednesdays. Our terminals page lays out every concourse.

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