Spring break travel is ramping up at Hartsfield-Jackson International, with more than 335,000 passengers expected to pass through the world’s busiest airport on Friday.
That includes more than 90,000 passengers passing through security checkpoints, with hundreds of thousands of other passengers arriving and connecting at at the Atlanta airport.
This Friday is expected to be the busiest day of the spring break period at Hartsfield-Jackson. The second-busiest day is expected to be Sunday, March 31, with more than 323,000 passengers moving through the airport.
An estimated 3.6 million people are expected to pass through the Atlanta airport from March 27 through April 7, the busiest stretch of the spring break travel period that started in mid-March.
Some locales in Florida known as prime spring break destinations in years past, including Miami, have sought to limit the rowdy crowds and associated crime. But Miami International Airport says is still seeing record crowds, with passenger volumes up about 9% year-over-year.
And Orlando International Airport is having its busiest weeks of the year over the spring break period, seeing an 11% increase in passengers year-over-year.
In Atlanta, airport officials are advising travelers to get to the airport at least 2.5 hours before domestic flights and 3 hours before international flights.
While Friday will bring the biggest crowds streaming into the domestic terminal, Saturday is expected to be a peak day for international travel to the Atlanta airport, according to Zachary Thomas, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Atlanta port director.
“This Saturday is equivalent to our busiest day last year,” with about 23,000 international passengers arriving at Hartsfield-Jackson, Thomas said. That’s on par with international volumes last July during the peak summer period.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
“People are eager to travel, eager to see family members,” Thomas said. “Throughout the pandemic, there were a lot of pent-up travel desires that really weren’t met and now they’re eager to get back out and see the world.”
International traffic is up about 18% year-over-year in Atlanta, according to Thomas, looking at figures for the fiscal year started in October.
“We have surpassed pre-pandemic levels pretty significantly,” Thomas said. Normally, spring is a slower season, but “we’re seeing numbers that are commensurate with last year’s summer season.”
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines has added flights, with plans to fly its largest-ever trans-Atlantic flight schedule this summer. On Thursday, it launches flights from Atlanta to a new airport in Tulum, Mexico, as part of its largest-ever spring break schedule to Mexico.
Including domestic and international travel, Delta Air Lines is seeing record demand for spring break, with plans to handle nearly 15 million customers over the period from March 9 through April 14.
Atlanta has also gained some new carriers — including South American airline Latam launching flights to Lima, Peru last October and Scandinavian Airlines planning to launch service to Copenhagen, Denmark this June. Discount carrier Avelo Airlines plans to offer flights from New Haven, Connecticut, to Atlanta in May.
Other carriers are adding service in Atlanta, including Aeromexico announcing plans for more routes to Mexico pending government approvals and Alaska Airlines launching a route to Portland starting Oct. 1.
Thomas, the port director, warns travelers should “pack their patience,” with some Customs wait times reaching 1-2 hours during peak periods.
“It’s very crowded,” said Alex Krijgsman, who arrived in Atlanta on a flight from the Netherlands this week to visit with family on a spring break vacation in Big Canoe, Georgia, before driving to Florida. However, he said going through Customs on Wednesday was “very quick.”
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
There are options to expedite your way through Customs, including a Global Entry trusted traveler membership, which costs $100 to enroll for five years and now has an app, or the free Mobile Passport Control app.
At Hartsfield-Jackson, CBP offers interviews seven days a week for arriving international passengers who have applied for Global Entry membership. The agency also aims to eventually open a Global Entry interview location at Hartsfield-Jackson for passengers departing on domestic or international flights.
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