ATLAirport Guide

Getting around ATL with reduced mobility: Plane Train, security and who helps

The Plane Train runs 24 hours, but ATL doesn't describe step-free boarding. How TSA screens a wheelchair, where staff stand and what ATL lists.

An underground airport walkway seen at an angle, a moving walkway running diagonally beneath a ceiling of glowing green and blue cut-out leaves.
Flight Paths, the leaf-canopy walkway between Concourses A and B

The Plane Train carries people to all seven ATL concourses, and ATL calls it a 24-hour operation. ATL’s Plane Train story and FAQ say nothing about elevators, ramps or step-free boarding, and neither gives a walking distance between concourses. For practical help, ask your airline’s wheelchair attendants or the Customer Experience Representatives at the Plane Train.

The Plane Train runs overnight, but ATL doesn’t describe boarding

ATL’s story calls it an automated underground train. The story puts the wait at 108 seconds if you reach a train as its doors close. The one scheduled shutdown is Wednesday at 1 a.m. for track maintenance. Our Plane Train guide has the hours table and what to do if it stops.

The walkway has no distance

ATL’s FAQ names a pedestrian walkway as an alternative to the train and says both connect with the other concourses and the Domestic Terminal. Concourse T joins the Domestic Terminal and Concourse F joins the International Terminal, and the concourse map shows where each one sits.

Airline wheelchair service can take you between gates

Delta says its wheelchair service can be prearranged to connecting flights and other parts of the airport. It also says its electric carts can’t carry you to another concourse or terminal. American lists help navigating between gates for connecting flights. Ask for a wheelchair when you book or at your airline’s ticketing counter.

ATL’s directory marks the places to ask in person. Wheelchair Assistance points are in the Domestic Terminal and on Concourses A and B. Delta Wheelchair Assistance points are in the Domestic Terminal, on Concourse A, next to Gate B27 on Concourse B and at International Terminal departures. The Domestic Terminal also has a Wheelchairs & Strollers desk. The directory doesn’t say which side of security each one is on.

Security with a wheelchair, scooter or walker

ATL says every checkpoint is ADA accessible, and each one’s hours are on the security page. TSA’s disabilities page sets out the screening:

  • Tell the officer whether you can walk or stand on your own. If standing is hard, ask for a chair or to be screened seated in your wheelchair or scooter.
  • Walkers, crutches and canes go through the X-ray, and an officer inspects any that won’t fit. Say so if you need the device back immediately.
  • Officers screen a wheelchair or scooter itself, including seat cushions and non-removable pouches. They test for traces of explosives, and removable items go through the X-ray.
  • In a standard lane, someone who can stand and walk is screened by technology, and anyone ineligible for it gets a pat-down. At 75 or older in a wheelchair or scooter, you may stay seated while the officer tests your hands.
  • In a TSA PreCheck lane, if you can’t stand or walk you may stay seated in your mobility device.

ATL’s security page asks passengers who need extra help to contact TSA Cares 72 hours before the flight.

MARTA: elevator alerts, reduced fare and paratransit

MARTA’s Airport Station is at the west end of the Domestic Terminal, between the north and south baggage claims. The standard, reduced and child fares are on the MARTA rail page. MARTA’s pages say:

Need What MARTA says
A working elevator It lists elevator and escalator advisories, and it offers text or email alerts on rail, bus and elevator availability
A reduced fare Reduced Fare Breeze Cards need proof of age, disability or Medicare status plus a photo ID, and you collect one at Five Points Rail Station or MARTA headquarters
Paratransit MARTA Mobility needs an eligibility application and an in-person interview. It runs only on the days and at the hours MARTA bus and rail run. Its page links separate ADA Paratransit Visitor Information

Where to ask for help

ATL’s Customer Experience Representatives stand at the Domestic Terminal’s west crossover. They also help travelers throughout the Transportation Mall as people enter and exit the Plane Train, and they guide travelers at security checkpoints. There are also information desks on Concourses E and F and at International Arrivals.

ATL’s maps page also offers a printable ADA and Special Services Map. It marks sensory rooms, wheelchair charging stations, adult changing stations and TTY/TDD telephones. The wheelchair charging station is on Concourse C, and the adult changing station and the sensory room are on Concourse F. Hearing loop telephones are on Concourse E and at International Terminal departures and arrivals. The sensory rooms guide has more on the Concourse F room.

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