--- title: "Security and when to arrive · ATL Airport Guide" description: "Every ATL guide on security and when to arrive: 7 guides, each answering one question." url: "https://atlairportguide.com/guides/security-and-when-to-arrive/" updated: "2026-11-15" airport: "ATL" type: "guide" --- > Independent guide, not the official ATL website. All pages: https://atlairportguide.com/llms.txt # Security and when to arrive Every ATL guide on security and when to arrive: 7 guides, each answering one question. Updated November 15, 2026 Getting through security at ATL: which checkpoints serve which concourses, when the lines are longest, what the faster lanes are, and how early to arrive for your flight. The security page lists every checkpoint with its published hours. ![The empty Main Checkpoint hall in the Domestic Terminal at Atlanta airport, with rope lanes leading toward the far screening lanes.](https://atlairportguide.com/images/atl/main-checkpoint-entrance-v6-800.webp) [ATL security checkpoints explained: Main, North, Lower North, South and International](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/atl-security-checkpoints-explained/) ATL has five checkpoints and says you can reach every gate from any of them. Main is open 24 hours, South is PreCheck only. Which lanes each one has. - [The five checkpoints and their lanes](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/atl-security-checkpoints-explained/#the-five-checkpoints-and-their-lanes) - [Which one to use](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/atl-security-checkpoints-explained/#which-one-to-use) - [Where ATL and CLEAR don’t agree](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/atl-security-checkpoints-explained/#where-atl-and-clear-dont-agree) - [Flying from the International Terminal](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/atl-security-checkpoints-explained/#flying-from-the-international-terminal) ![Empty switchback queue lanes of black posts and belts in front of the main security checkpoint in the Domestic Terminal at Atlanta airport.](https://atlairportguide.com/images/atl/north-checkpoint-queue-area-v16-800.webp) [ATL security wait times: live page, hours and peak times](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/security-wait-times-at-atl/) ATL posts live waits for five checkpoints, from 0 to 15 minutes up to 60+. Lines usually peak 5 to 9 a.m. See each checkpoint's hours and lanes. - [What the wait times page shows](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/security-wait-times-at-atl/#what-the-wait-times-page-shows) - [Which checkpoints are open when](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/security-wait-times-at-atl/#which-checkpoints-are-open-when) - [Early and late departures](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/security-wait-times-at-atl/#early-and-late-departures) - [PreCheck](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/security-wait-times-at-atl/#precheck) - [An ID problem adds minutes](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/security-wait-times-at-atl/#an-id-problem-adds-minutes) - [Work back from your departure time](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/security-wait-times-at-atl/#work-back-from-your-departure-time) - [If your checkpoint shows a long wait](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/security-wait-times-at-atl/#if-your-checkpoint-shows-a-long-wait) ![Empty stanchion lanes behind a glass partition in the main security checkpoint hall at Atlanta airport.](https://atlairportguide.com/images/atl/dt-atrium-sw-ihop-v14-800.webp) [Can you go through security at ATL without a ticket? Gate passes and where to meet](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/can-you-go-through-security-at-atl-without-ticket/) No. ATL lets only ticketed passengers through security. An airline may issue a gate pass for one adult with a disabled passenger or a minor flying alone. - [The one exception: a gate pass](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/can-you-go-through-security-at-atl-without-ticket/#the-one-exception-a-gate-pass) - [Where you can be without a ticket](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/can-you-go-through-security-at-atl-without-ticket/#where-you-can-be-without-a-ticket) - [Where to meet someone instead](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/can-you-go-through-security-at-atl-without-ticket/#where-to-meet-someone-instead) - [If you can’t reach them](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/can-you-go-through-security-at-atl-without-ticket/#if-you-cant-reach-them) ![An empty white biometric e-gate between black stanchions at a security checkpoint at Atlanta airport.](https://atlairportguide.com/images/atl/lower-north-clear-lane-v6-800.webp) [CLEAR at Atlanta Airport: Lanes, Hours and Which Checkpoint to Use](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/clear-at-atlanta-airport/) CLEAR at ATL has a standard lane at Lower North from 4:30 a.m., a PreCheck lane at South until 9 p.m., and both lanes at the International Terminal. - [Which lane each checkpoint has](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/clear-at-atlanta-airport/#which-lane-each-checkpoint-has) - [Which checkpoint to pick](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/clear-at-atlanta-airport/#which-checkpoint-to-pick) - [How to enroll in CLEAR and PreCheck](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/clear-at-atlanta-airport/#how-to-enroll-in-clear-and-precheck) ![Black rope lanes in front of a gold stone wall and glass-fronted screening lanes in the International Terminal security hall at Atlanta airport.](https://atlairportguide.com/images/atl/intl-checkpoint-entrance-v15-800.webp) [How early to arrive at Atlanta airport: 2 hours domestic, 3 international](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/how-early-arrive-at-atlanta-airport/) ATL says arrive 2 hours before a domestic flight and 3 before an international one. Airline cutoffs, checkpoint hours and when to add time. - [What the airlines add](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/how-early-arrive-at-atlanta-airport/#what-the-airlines-add) - [When the checkpoint hours decide your time](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/how-early-arrive-at-atlanta-airport/#when-the-checkpoint-hours-decide-your-time) - [Add time for how you get there](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/how-early-arrive-at-atlanta-airport/#add-time-for-how-you-get-there) ![The Domestic Terminal ticketing hall at Atlanta airport, empty, with its navy wall and a long run of check-in counters.](https://atlairportguide.com/images/atl/main-checkpoint-late-lanes-v9-800.webp) [Is Atlanta airport open 24 hours? Security, trains and food overnight](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/atlanta-airport-open-24-hours/) ATL's access rules apply 24/7, but only the Domestic Terminal Main checkpoint is open 24 hours. What else stays open overnight, and what closes. - [Who can come in overnight](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/atlanta-airport-open-24-hours/#who-can-come-in-overnight) - [Security: one checkpoint never closes](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/atlanta-airport-open-24-hours/#security-one-checkpoint-never-closes) - [Trains that run all night, and the Gold Line, which doesn’t](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/atlanta-airport-open-24-hours/#trains-that-run-all-night-and-the-gold-line-which-doesnt) - [What food and basics stay open](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/atlanta-airport-open-24-hours/#what-food-and-basics-stay-open) - [Parking has no published hours](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/atlanta-airport-open-24-hours/#parking-has-no-published-hours) ![Two chrome belt posts with dark blue belts on a polished granite floor in the security queue at Atlanta airport.](https://atlairportguide.com/images/atl/south-checkpoint-entrance-v17-800.webp) [TSA PreCheck at Atlanta airport: where the lane is and when it runs](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/tsa-precheck-at-atlanta-airport/) ATL lists a TSA PreCheck lane at Domestic Terminal South and the International Terminal. CLEAR's own lane at South starts later than the checkpoint. - [Where ATL and CLEAR put the lane](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/tsa-precheck-at-atlanta-airport/#where-atl-and-clear-put-the-lane) - [When South is closed](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/tsa-precheck-at-atlanta-airport/#when-south-is-closed) - [What PreCheck does and doesn’t promise](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/tsa-precheck-at-atlanta-airport/#what-precheck-does-and-doesnt-promise) - [What it costs and where to enroll](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/tsa-precheck-at-atlanta-airport/#what-it-costs-and-where-to-enroll)