Security and when to arrive

Getting through security at ATL: which checkpoints serve which concourses, when the lines are longest, what the faster lanes are, and how early to arrive for your flight. The security page lists every checkpoint with its published hours.

• ATL security checkpoints explained: Main, North, Lower North, South and International

  ATL has five checkpoints and says you can reach every gate from any of them. Main is open 24 hours, South is PreCheck only. Which lanes each one has.

  • The five checkpoints and their lanes
  • Which one to use
  • Where ATL and CLEAR don’t agree
  • Flying from the International Terminal
• ATL security wait times: live page, hours and peak times

  ATL posts live waits for five checkpoints, from 0 to 15 minutes up to 60+. Lines usually peak 5 to 9 a.m. See each checkpoint's hours and lanes.

  • What the wait times page shows
  • Which checkpoints are open when
  • Early and late departures
  • PreCheck
  • An ID problem adds minutes
  • Work back from your departure time
  • If your checkpoint shows a long wait
• Can you go through security at ATL without a ticket? Gate passes and where to meet

  No. ATL lets only ticketed passengers through security. An airline may issue a gate pass for one adult with a disabled passenger or a minor flying alone.

  • The one exception: a gate pass
  • Where you can be without a ticket
  • Where to meet someone instead
  • If you can’t reach them
• CLEAR at Atlanta Airport: Lanes, Hours and Which Checkpoint to Use

  CLEAR at ATL has a standard lane at Lower North from 4:30 a.m., a PreCheck lane at South until 9 p.m., and both lanes at the International Terminal.

  • Which lane each checkpoint has
  • Which checkpoint to pick
  • How to enroll in CLEAR and PreCheck
• How early to arrive at Atlanta airport: 2 hours domestic, 3 international

  ATL says arrive 2 hours before a domestic flight and 3 before an international one. Airline cutoffs, checkpoint hours and when to add time.

  • What the airlines add
  • When the checkpoint hours decide your time
  • Add time for how you get there
• Is Atlanta airport open 24 hours? Security, trains and food overnight

  ATL's access rules apply 24/7, but only the Domestic Terminal Main checkpoint is open 24 hours. What else stays open overnight, and what closes.

  • Who can come in overnight
  • Security: one checkpoint never closes
  • Trains that run all night, and the Gold Line, which doesn’t
  • What food and basics stay open
  • Parking has no published hours
• TSA PreCheck at Atlanta airport: where the lane is and when it runs

  ATL lists a TSA PreCheck lane at Domestic Terminal South and the International Terminal. CLEAR's own lane at South starts later than the checkpoint.

  • Where ATL and CLEAR put the lane
  • When South is closed
  • What PreCheck does and doesn’t promise
  • What it costs and where to enroll