Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) will turn 100 in 2025. And to mark the occasion the airport is launching 18 months of celebrations starting on New Year’s Eve.
As 2024 rolls over to 2025, ATL’s canopies will display a New Year’s countdown and a special centennial design that will be visible most nights of the year.
We haven’t seen the centennial design yet, but based on previous designs – like this rainbow version – we’re looking forward to something snazzy.
In addition to the New Year’s Eve countdown, ATL centennial events will include a centennial gala, art displays, stories documenting the Airport’s history, and a look ahead to the future.
In the meantime, ATL is sharing some historical milestones:
*On April 16, 1925, Walter Sims, the 44th mayor of Atlanta, signed a five-year lease for an abandoned auto racetrack that City Council member William Hartsfield thought would make a good airfield.
*The first commercial flight into what was then known as Candler Field, took place on Sept. 15, 1926 when Florida Airways delivered mail on the Tampa/Jacksonville/Atlanta route.
*William Hartsfield served as the 47th and 49th mayor of Atlanta. And when he died, in 1971, the Airport’s name was changed to William B. Hartsfield Atlanta Airport.
*In October 2003, the Airport’s name was changed again to honor Maynard Jackson, the city’s first Black mayor who served as the city’s 52nd and 54th mayor.
Keep in mind that some amenities at ATL and other airports may be temporarily suspended or unavailable right now due to health concerns, but we’re confident they’ll return.
If we don’t include your favorite service or amenity at ATL airport or if you’d like to nominate an airport to be featured, please add a note in the comment section below.
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5 Things We Love About Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
1. The art at ATL
Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) has an extensive collection of art and history exhibits throughout the domestic and international terminals spaces, in all seven concourses, and in connecting walkways between concourses.
Here are just a few of the pieces in ATL’s art and history collection:
Photos and artifacts pay tribute to Civil Rights leaders John Lewis (Domestic Atrium) and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Concourse E).
Flight Paths, by Steve Waldeck (in the underground walkway between Concourses A and B) simulates the sights and sounds of a walk through a Georgia forest.
Elsewhere, you’ll find a series of Zimbabwean stone sculptures, a selection of images from National Geographic’s Photo Ark project, and many more permanent and temporary exhibitions.
2. Kid stuff at ATL
Kids will enjoy finding some of the cool and quirky art exhibits at ATL, including the Lunch Box Time Capsule exhibit on the boarding level of Concourse E (near Gate E14).
Fun too: a ride on the airport’s Plane Train. Just be sure to get a spot in the front or back car for a cool view of the tunnels between concourses.
3. Shopping at ATL
ATL is home to the World’s Largest Hudson shop, which is actually a collection of shops within a shop. In addition to Georgia-themed-souvenirs, you’ll find old-school candy, plenty of books and even some vinyl records.
4. The ATL Canopies
The two massive canopies over the north and south sides of the domestic terminal at ATL are part of a multi-billion dollar capital improvement project.
Each canopy is nearly 900 feet long – the length of nearly three football fields. In addition to being waterproof, the translucent arches can also be lit up in a wide variety of colors.
Thank you frontline and essential workers! Tonight, as a demonstration of our gratitude, we honor your courage and dedication by joining #LightItBlue and landmarks across the U.S. to shine light on those who are working tirelessly every day. Keep shining bright.✨💙 #MakeItBluepic.twitter.com/xrHcYeQcGY
Two pairs of restrooms (at Gates B18 & B23) use red or green lights to signal when a restroom stall is occupied or empty. (Brilliant!) The system also tracks restroom usage so the janitorial staff knows when a lav needs to be cleaned. A nice partnership between TRAX and Tooshlights and ATL.
Looks like we won’t have the NY-area airports to kick around – Wi-Fi-wise- for much longer.
The Associated Press reports that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on Wednesday approved a plan that -perhaps by the fall – will offer passengers at Newark Liberty International, John F. Kennedy International and LaGuardia airports 30 minutes of free Wi-Fi. After that, passengers will have pay the $7.95 day fee.
While that 30 minutes of free Wi-Fi s good news, of course, 30 minutes is hardly enough time to get anything done. So here’s hoping free unlimited Wi-Fi is in the future for the JFK, EWR and LGA airports.
Harstfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport recently changed its plan and now offers all passengers unlimited free Wi-Fi, with an option to get an upgraded service for a fee.
Many frequent travelers buy memberships or occasional day passes for access to airline lounges in order to tap amenities such as complimentary snacks and drinks, reliable Wi-Fi and quiet, comfortable places to escape the hubbub of the airport.
These lounges are typically either tucked into windowless spaces at airports or offer views of the airfield through sealed windows.
To develop the look and feel of the Sky Decks, Delta partnered with Architectural Digest, which brought in interior designer Thom Filicia, familiar to some as one of the experts featured on the popular TV show, “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.”
In additional to living room style seating, power outlets and greenery, “the decks will have red stretched canvas awnings to provide shade,” said Delta Air Lines spokesperson Leslie Scott. The Atlanta club deck will be an extension of the current Sky Club and offer close -up views of aircraft and runway activity. “The JFK Deck will be on the roof level and offer amazing views of Jamaica Bay and of the runways,” Scott said. “Plane spotters will be able to see liveries from around the world.”
“This is a great move from Delta,” said Dan Gellert, CEO and co-founder of the airport travel application Gate Guru. “Delta’s Sky Clubs at JFK and ATL specifically are rated average at best in GateGuru, so it is great to see them getting a bit more aggressive in these airports to lure business travelers.”
Gellert says airline lounges in the U.S. “have not done much over the recent years to really push the envelope regarding new features or functionality to their lounges,” but he’s hopeful more airlines will expand upon this innovation, “especially in warm weather cities such as Orlando, Los Angeles and Houston.”
Over the past two years, Delta has opened or renovated airline clubs in Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York, Seattle and other cities. At JFK, the rooftop terrace will be part of the Delta Sky Club in the expanded Terminal 4 and is scheduled to open in May. At the Atlanta airport, the Sky Deck will be next to the existing club room on Concourse F and is scheduled to open this summer.
Delta is not the first airline to recognize that frequent travelers — who spend a lot of time indoors, in artificial light — might like to spend some time outside before boarding a plane. “Virgin Australia’s recently opened lounge at Gold Coast, a popular sun destination on Australia’s east coast, features an outdoor area called The Deck,” Raymond Kollau, founder of Airlinetrends.com, told NBC News.
And airports in Amsterdam, Honolulu and Long Beach, Calif., have landscaped outdoor areas open to all passengers.
“The Delta Sky Deck differentiates the airline’s lounge experience by offering a bit of a boutique feel,” Kollau said. “And aviation enthusiasts will love the backdrop of the busy airport tarmac and even the occasional smell of airline kerosene.”
(Photos courtesy Delta Air Lines)
(My story about Delta’s new Sky Decks first appeared on NBC News)
Those American flags and welcome signs won’t be needed at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport anymore.
Every day, for the past eight years, at least one chartered plane carrying U.S. soldiers heading home for two weeks of rest and recuperation from active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan has touched down at both Dallas/Fort Worth and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airports.
And for every flight at DFW, volunteers in the “Welcome Home a Hero” program have gathered to enthusiastically greet the returning soldiers.
“The welcome is a festive event with recorded patriotic music and anywhere from 30 to 300 cheering people holding flags and homemade signs and banners,” said Donna Cranston, coordinator of the Dallas/Fort Worth program. The greeting has become so well-known that some soldiers request to arrive in the U.S. via Dallas instead of Atlanta, Cranston said, even though that means they may have to wait longer for a connecting flight home.
But the drawdown of troops in Iraq and the shift to shorter deployments means there are no longer two full planes of R&R-bound soldiers returning home each day. So the U.S. army has decided to consolidate the flights into Atlanta.
March 14 will be the final Dallas arrival.
The conclusion of the flight is bittersweet news for some troops and for many volunteers who have welcomed home more than 460,000 inbound soldiers who have touched down in Dallas since 2004.
“The soldiers get a hero’s welcome when they come through Dallas, and it’s an uplifting and emotional experience,” said Army Lt. Col. Trisha McAfee, commander of the army’s Personnel Assistance Point at the Dallas airport. “They didn’t get that in other wars. But the consolidation is a good thing because it means many soldiers are spending less time in the war zone and getting home sooner.”
In Dallas/Fort Worth, many volunteers who welcome home troops at the airport also joined the USO so that they could be part of the send-off activities for active-duty military as well. “One volunteer has made more than 45,000 neck pillows to give to soldiers on their way back,” said McAfee.
“It’s always a happier occasion when they come in,” said Linda Tinnerman, 71, who with 78-year-old Constance Carman became known as one of the “Huggin’ and Kissin’ Grandmas” — dispensing free hugs to every returning soldier. “We are also there just to talk and visit with the soldiers.”
While the final R&R flight will arrive at Dallas/Fort Worth on March 14, the last departing flight is scheduled for March 30. After that, the U.S. Army’s daily chartered R&R flights will arrive and depart solely from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, where there’s a much smaller “Welcome Home a Hero” and send-off program.
“It’s a matter of logistics,” said Mark Brown, Personnel Assistance Point commander at the Atlanta airport. “At DFW, the soldiers come out into the non-secure side. In Atlanta, they stay on the secure side to connect to their flight. So we have airport employees come out to help with the welcome.”
(A slightly different version of my story appeared on msnbc.com Travel)
