Atlanta On-Airport Parking? Nada. Zilch. Zero

Security Incite is a blog written by frequent traveler Mike Rothman. But even this jaded warhorse was staggered by the lack of parking at Hartsfield recently. Just think how much easier his trip would have been if he had made an advance parking reservation!

“Take a mental note. Do not fly out of Hartsfield on a Wednesday afternoon. I figured it wouldn’t be a big deal. I know that Monday mornings are pretty nutty, even Monday afternoon. But Wednesday? It seems Wednesday afternoon is the busiest time for airport parking. Who knew? Basically, there was no parking. As in zero. Nada. Zilch. Absolutely none on the airport grounds. So I went to Plan B – off-site parking. And oh crap, I’ve got about 70 minutes before my flight.

Evidently, I wasn’t alone in this idea of off-site parking. Of the 7 or 8 different lots off the airport grounds, the first 6 were full and not taking new customers. Oh, did I mention I now had less than an hour before my flight? I actually had left plenty of time, if parking was normal. But it wasn’t. So I went to the 7th lot and luckily got a spot. I think it was somewhere near Tennessee. So with about 45 minutes before my flight, I get on the shuttle bus and basically resign myself to missing the flight, blowing dinner with a friend, and hoping I could get a spot on a later flight.

It was actually pretty liberating. Normally, my acid reflux would be in overdrive, chewing away at my esophagus every time we hit a little traffic. But I figured there was no way I’d make the flight, so it wasn’t a big deal. Some other folks where panicked and getting all hot under the collar, but not Cool Hand Mike. I figured I’d park outside of the Crown Room for a while and jump onto the WiFi, while I waited for the later flight.”

He made his flight by squeezing through security and “It was a pleasant departure from my normal Type A self-imposed stomach grinding stress. I could get used to this.”