Aviation Specials – May 2018

Extreme Airports // 13

ATLANTA

A $250m three-storey atrium was

completed just before the start of the

1996 Games, linking the two sides of the

1981 main buildings. It included an open

seating area, shops, a chapel and offi ces

on the upper levels and the main security

checkpoints, the ground transportation

centre and a station for the city’s metro

system below. Concourse F, also known

as the Maynard Holbrook Jackson Jr

International Terminal, was added in 2012

and became a dedicated international

facility to supplement the E-gates. At

the same time upgrades aimed at

accommodating Airbus A380s were

completed, with some taxiways widened

from 145ft to 162ft (44m - 49m) and gates

E1 and E3 gaining dual-level boarding and

disembarkation facilities. Gate F3 has

subsequently received similar treatment.

Other developments

Work on a $1.28bn fi fth runway, 10/28,

commenced in May 2001 and was

completed fi ve years later. Construction

involved substantial groundwork that was

11 storeys high in places, demolishing local

neighbourhoods and building a bridge over

the Interstate 285 motorway. The additional

airstrip enabled triple simultaneous

landings and brought the movement

capacity up to 237 fl ights per hour. At the

same time, a new 398ft (121m) ATC tower,

the tallest in the country, was completed.

Other improvements followed. An ‘end-

around’ taxiway was fi nished in 2007,

providing a link to the midfi eld terminals

from the northmost part of the airfi eld

without aircraft having to hold to cross

active runways. The authorities claim this

development alone saves $25-30m in fuel

burn each year.

On October 20, 2003, Atlanta City

Council agreed to change the name of

the airport again, to Hartsfi eld-Jackson

Atlanta International Airport in honour

former mayor Maynard Jackson who had

died earlier in the year.

ATL today

Atlanta is now connected to 150

destinations in the USA and 70 in more

than 50 countries. It handles around

2,500 fl ights and 275,000 passengers

every day through 209 gates (T – 17, A – 29,

B – 32, C – 48, D – 43, E – 28 and F – 12).

The 2016 20-year master plan envisages

further expansion, including modernising

existing facilities; constructing Concourse

G, extending concourses D and T; replacing

the multi-storey car parks. A new hotel,

travel plaza and commercial complex, and a

sixth runway will be built. It is also possible

that development of concourses H and I

may commence before 2030 if demand

warrants. Much work is already under way.

Passenger throughput topped 100m ppa

in 2015 and has remained above that level

since. Atlanta was the fi rst to pass this

milestone and it is the only airport in the

world to have done so to date. The facility

is still dominated by Delta which currently

carries nearly three quarters of all the

traffi c. Southwest comes next with around

11%, followed by American on a mere 3%

and Spirit Airlines at 2%.

Since the turn of the century, others

such as Dubai World Central/Al Maktoum

International and Beij ing have given the

appearance of nipping at ATL’s heels.

However, the former is still many years

from achieving its targets, and China’s

capital city will soon have a second large

airport – Daxing International – which will

dilute numbers at its current facility. On

that basis alone, many industry experts

would bet that Atlanta will retain its

position at the top of the world’s league

tables for at least the next decade, and

maybe for much longer.

McDonnell Douglas MD-80s are used on short

domestic fl ights. (Renato Serra Fonseca)

Delta Air Lines fl ies a large fl eet of

McDonnell Douglas MD-80s and MD-90s.

(Renato Serra Fonseca)

Queues can build up on the taxiways.

(AirTeamImages.com / Bruce Leibowitz)

A Delta Boeing 737-832 is prepared for an

evening departure. (Renato Serra Fonseca)

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