Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport moved one of its pickup zones for Uber and Lyft users Sunday — a day later than expected — shortening the walk for some passengers.
The Atlanta airport was originally planning to open the new domestic Terminal North pickup zone at a location 750 feet closer to the terminal on Saturday, Dec. 22, for the busy holiday travel weekend. Instead, it opened the new Terminal North pickup zone on Sunday, Dec. 23.
The world's busiest airport was bustling on Sunday, with long security lines in the morning and heavy crowds in the terminal, at check-in and baggage claim.
Linda Moore, a traveler from Vero Beach, Fla., who flew to Atlanta on Sunday to visit her son, called the new pickup zone located under the MARTA tracks “very convenient,” adding: “Last year, we were here and it was a lot farther walk.”
While the pickup zone for Uber and Lyft passengers at Terminal North — serving carriers other than Delta Air Lines — has been moved closer, the Terminal South pickup zone for Uber and Lyft is still a long walk from the terminal at a remote location in the economy parking lot.
The domestic terminal pickup zones for Uber and Lyft were moved from the curbside last year to make way for construction of massive curbside canopies. For drop-offs, Uber and Lyft drivers still use the curbside at the domestic terminal. At the international terminal, Uber and Lyft passengers can be picked up and dropped off at the curbside.
Cheryl Tipton, visiting Atlanta from Hawaii, said the walk to the Terminal North pickup zone was “much shorter than I expected.”
“I’ve done this a couple of times before,” Tipton said. “It was really long the last time I tried this” earlier this year. “I was pleasantly surprised.”
But Atlanta resident Maurkesha Drew said she thinks the walk to the Terminal North zone may still be challenging for people with disabilities who have trouble walking long distances, and she noted that there are no benches or seats in the area yet.
The previous pickup zone, however, “was way far,” Drew said. “This walk was not as long as last time.”
Getting to the new pickup zone still requires exiting through the lower level of Terminal North.
Airport officials have been planning to route passengers along the curbside to the new Terminal North pickup zone. But an awning over the curbside has not yet been built, and for now, passengers are being routed through the Terminal North parking garage to the new Uber and Lyft pickup zone.
