Photograph by John E. McDonald

Take Off: A Century of Delta and Hartsfield-Jackson

As Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Delta Air Lines celebrate their 100th anniversaries, their intertwined histories have become integral to Atlanta’s identity. The airport handles nearly 800,000 flights each year, with Delta, its trusted wingman, comprising 70 percent of that air traffic. From a small regional field to the world’s busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson’s growth mirrors Delta’s transformation from a crop-dusting company to a global airline. Together, they’ve shaped Atlanta’s landscape and its connection to the world.

In this issue, we take a special look at their shared legacy, including a timeline in partnership with the Atlanta History Center, a day in the life at the airport, the airport workers who keep everything running, and the quietest place in Hartsfield-Jackson. Plus, Clark Howard shares some smart travel tips.

By Salem Burdett, Skye Estroff, Lauren Finney-Harden, Catherine Jones, Madeline Shapiro, and Xavier Stevens | Photographs by John E. McDonald

Vyvyan Hughes and Craig Weido in front of a wall of neon signs

Atlanta’s The Neon Company, one of few surviving fabricators of neon signs in the U.S., is still going strong

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Flight Paths by Steve Waldeck, between Concourses A and B, is one of the only dark places in airport, with the sounds of rain and birds chirping in the background.

The world’s busiest airport is where most people interact with Atlanta. In many ways, it resembles the city itself.

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Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the city’s place of transition, where travelers bring their joy and pain together for formative experiences. The busiest and most efficient airport in the world is also where most people, Americans or otherwise, interact with Atlanta. In form and function, the airport resembles Atlanta, in all of its oddities, illusions, and aspirations, and travelers see the city for what it is.

Clark Howard’s cheapskate’s guide to Hartsfield-Jackson airport

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No one is better suited to maneuver through the airport on a tight budget than Atlanta radio legend Clark Howard. Before he became a consumer-rights guru for WSB-TV (and now the host of his own podcast), he owned a travel agency, which sparked his passion for cheap getaways. Here are a few of his tips to save money while navigating Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Ryan Vizcarra stands outside, at the tarmac with a Delta plane behind him

Voices from the Tarmac: The airport workers who keep Atlanta—and the world—moving

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A flight attendant. A traffic manager. A Sky Club director. These are just a few of the people who keep Atlanta’s airport humming. As Hartsfield-Jackson and Delta celebrate 100 years, we asked the workers behind the scenes what it means to keep the world moving.
An expansion of the airport including a new terminal

100 Years of Atlanta in the air: A timeline of Hartsfield-Jackson and Delta Air Lines

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Less than seven years after the first airplane took flight, aviation arrived in Atlanta on the same site as today’s Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. In 1925, the company that would eventually become Delta Air Lines formed, and that same year, the City of Atlanta leased an early airfield south of the city for its first municipal airport. We have partnered with the Atlanta History Center for this century-long timeline of Hartsfield-Jackson and Delta Air Lines.
The inside of a Minute Suite, complete with wall sconces, a hanger, and a chair

The quietest place in the world’s busiest airport

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Every day, travelers disappear into Minute Suites—soundproof, self-contained rooms tucked into Concourses B (two locations), T, and F, available for rent by the hour or overnight. The entrance to the one at B16, located next to a Popeyes and a beauty-product vending machine by Kylie Jenner, is so discreet that it’s easy to overlook (unless you’re already in the know). The lone giveaway is a modest sign on the wall: “Quiet Please Travelers Napping.” And, it turns out, many are.

Cheaper parking, shorter lines: 4 tips for an easier time getting through Atlanta’s airport

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While Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is often labeled as too big, too chaotic, and any other number of derogatory descriptors, any Atlantan worth the salt on their Waffle House hashbrowns will tell you that our airport is as efficient as they come. To streamline your experience further, try these tips.

The hidden gem near Hartsfield-Jackson: Inside the Delta Flight Museum

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A fraying wicker chair from Delta's first ever flight, a S-6000-B Sedan, as well as many other artifacts from the past century of aviation can be seen at the Delta Flight Museum. Located next to Delta’s headquarters and the Atlanta airport, the flight museum walks visitors through a century of Delta’s growth. The exhibit spaces, which were renovated earlier this year in time for Delta’s centennial, are housed inside two repurposed airline hangars.
A street fillled with textiles for sale in Marrakech, Morroco

5 must-travel destinations on Delta CEO Ed Bastian’s bucket list

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Ed Bastian has led Delta Air Lines as its CEO since 2016, shepherding the Atlanta-headquartered company through a global pandemic and helping maintain its status as the most awarded airline in the United States. Here are five destinations—with nonstop Delta flights, of course—on Bastian’s must-travel bucket list.
Atlanta Magazine October 2025 cover - Take Off! Celebrating a Century of Delta and Hartsfield-Jackson

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Atlanta Magazine
Since 1961, Atlanta magazine, the city’s premier general interest publication, has served as the authority on Atlanta, providing its readers with a mix of long-form nonfiction, lively lifestyle coverage, in-depth service journalism, and literary essays, columns, and profiles.

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