An expansion of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport’s Concourse T adds more room for a major airline with a relatively small presence in Atlanta.
Chicago-based United Airlines gains more gate space with the Concourse T extension that opened in mid-October, the largest gate expansion at the Atlanta airport since the opening of the international terminal in 2012.
“It will definitely allow opportunities for growth,” said United Airlines general manager of airport operations Mel Johnson at a ribbon-cutting Tuesday.
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Credit: Steve Schaefer
At an airport in which hometown carrier Delta Air Lines controls about 78% of the passenger traffic, a competitor gaining newly-built gates in Atlanta is a rarity.
The extension adds a circular atrium surrounded by gates on the North end of Concourse T. The construction took more than four years to complete and cost $341 million, including the cost of relocating buildings to make way for the expansion.
New food and beverage outlets are also planned for the extension, including a Vino Volo wine bar and a Southern National Market with gourmet pizza. But the concessions are still going through a permitting process and won’t be completed until next spring and summer. A temporary pop-up bar in the atrium and vending machines will serve customers in the meantime.
Once all the eateries are open, “This whole area will be a sort of city unto itself,” since it’s a long walk down to the end of the concourse, said Paradies Lagardère President and CEO Gregg Paradies.
The five new gates have larger, more modern boarding areas and can handle larger aircraft.
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Credit: Steve Schaefer
“It’s giving people more breathing room,” said Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens. “It just looks like a modern city of the future.”
The gates will allow United to bring in more mainline aircraft such as Boeing 737s, rather than smaller United Express regional jets.
United currently operates about 24 daily departures from Atlanta, Johnson said, and had about 30 to 32 flights before the COVID-pandemic. “We will definitely grow to at least that point,” Johnson said.
The Concourse T extension also allows United to consolidate its operations onto six gates on Concourse T, rather than using five older gates on Concourse T along with Concourse E for other flights.
Traveler Tammy Serr, who was flying out of Atlanta on United on Tuesday, called the new gate area “modern, nice spacious.”
“I like the light ... the windows,” Serr said.
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Credit: Steve Schaefer
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