Construction to begin on new airport parking deck, causing parking shortage

ATLANTA — Air travelers will face new parking challenges at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport beginning next month.

Channel 2’s Tom Regan was at the airport where some travelers said this is going to cause some major parking headaches.

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The south economy lot, which primarily serves Delta fliers, will close to begin construction of a new parking deck.

With the closure, there will be more than 3,000 fewer parking spaces at the airport.

“That’s going to cause a lot of problems for business travelers that are flying through here. Wow, I don’t know what they are going to do,” said passenger Mike Mecham.

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The closure of the south economy lot is the first phase of a multi-year construction project. Airport officials say the existing south parking deck is over 40 years old and must be torn down and replaced for safety reasons and to increase parking capacity.

The new structure will have seven levels and 6,700 parking spaces upon completion in late 2026.

“This structure will be two and a half football fields long and a football field and a half wide,” said Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Senior Deputy General Manager, Infrastructure Frank Rucker.

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The parking will also feature EV charging stations and easier, direct access from the parking lot to the terminal.

“Once completed, this structure will benefit our passengers in terms of space availability, technology and convenience,” said airport Deputy General of Operations Jan Lennon.

While the project is underway, air travelers can use other parking options including the north parking facility, ATL West, ATL Select and ATL Park Ride.

After the south deck is replaced, work will begin on demolishing and building a new north deck.

Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport serves more than 100 million passengers a year and is the world’s busiest airport.

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