Heading to Europe in the summer and am looking at flying from and to Atlanta. We flew from there once before and the return left a lot to be desired. They had this crazy system where once through immigration you picked your bags up, went through customs and then had to deposit your bags again, get a shuttle to another building and then wait at another baggage carousel to retrieve said bags. Anyone know if this still happens?
Is Atlanta your nearest airport? I hate that place. I had to call Hairgel to get directions out of that place. Not driving but to get out of the actual damn terminal.
Only place I really try to avoid entering the USA is Miami. That place is always a shit show. Where are you located?
No we'll be flying in and out from a nearby airport. Last time we went we drove there in a rental, that was an experience I never want to repeat. That's good to know.
The two places closest to you where we have always had smooth experiences were DFW and SDF. ATL is a madhouse. For the sheet size, DFW processes really well. SDF is small but it's pretty impressive how well they manage.
We're in Kentucky, narrowed it down to Huntington, WV via Charlotte to Heathrow or Charleston, WV via Atlanta to Heathrow.
I try to use Detroit when possible but my international flights always seem to be through JFK or ATL. I really have never had a problem with either tbh though.
I don't hate that place. Rental car return is a little funky but it's no where near as bad as SFO although the tolls hidden away around DFW are a bit annoying.
I'd go Charlotte over Atlanta. Went in and out of there international a couple times and was always pretty easy. I'm Detroit local so thats my main goal to skip the country, super easy there. But if the choices are ATL or Charlotte, go Charlotte. Depending on the time of year, Charlotte will have way fewer delays and cancellations than ATL who seems to get some weird weather that really sends shit sideways (disclaimer: on any given day things can go pear shaped at any airport, so sometimes its just luck of the draw)
A lot depends on when you're traveling. I've seen short lines and I've seen long lines. But, after getting Global Entry, I'm happy to just walk past those lines. All of this stuff is normal with international travel if you're connecting to another airport - pick up your bags - go through customs - check bags again (stash your booze that you picked up duty free and hope it doesn't send you overweight. Even though you could carry it on from whereever, you can't carry it on a domestic flight) - shouldn't have to touch your bags again until you get home There was an intermediary step that was eliminated with the new intl terminal, as Paige said.
Yep, been in and out of Charlotte a bunch of times, had a problem there a few years ago when the weather caused an issue, got delayed and missed the flight to the UK. They did put us on another flight but it was via Frankfurt. It's a shorter layover in Atlanta that's why I'm looking at that option.
The arrival and departure times aren't as convenient for our travel dates, it is also more expensive to fly there.
Ah. I always flew there for work and didn't GAF about cost. Is there anything in and out of Newark, NJ? I always had good luck connecting through there.
The new International Terminal is F and it has it's own baggage customs area and this speeds things up. If using ATL look into which terminal you are using so you can plan accordingly