During the holiday season, millions of travelers will pass through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on the way to see loved ones around the world.
But, not every travel day is smooth, and weather delays or full ground stops can throw a major wrench in your travel plans.
If your flight is delayed for an extended period of time, or even cancelled, are you allowed to sleep in your car on Atlanta airport property?
Georgia does not have a state-wide law regarding sleeping in the car, allowing cities and towns to set their own ordinances.
While many parts of the state will allow car sleeping in places like rest stops or some business parking lots, Hartsfield-Jackson falls under the ownership of the City of Atlanta where things are different.
Atlanta city ordinances say “urban camping,” as it’s called, is illegal on any public property including any streets, sidewalks, roadways or under bridges. As the parking lots of the airport are owned by the city, this would make urban camping there illegal too.
Short snoozes or cat naps may be acceptable, but if stopped by Atlanta Police you may be asked to show a plane ticket or prove you have a reason to be at the airport.
The City of Atlanta has spent years cracking down on the city’s homeless population using the airport as a place to stay, typically overnight. Groups sometimes in the hundreds would take MARTA to the airport to spend the night.
A new regulation from 2024 limits access to airport spaces to ticketed passengers or other people with a “legitimate” reason to be there, including the ATL Sky Train, the car rental center and parking areas.
If you need to sleep at the airport, there are a few options.
Minute Suites has locations in the domestic terminals Concourse B and Concourse E, and in the international terminal in Concourse F.
Each suite has a daybed sofa, a pillow, blanket, temperature controls, desk, Wi-Fi and television. The rooms are cleaned between uses and lock from the inside.
A room overnight in Concourse B on Dec. 11, for example, costs $215 before tax. For a shorter stay, you can rent the rooms by the hour for $65.
For free options, travelers recommend staying within the airport and finding a spot in the carpeted areas between stops of the plane train or areas with armrest-free seating. More locations are reported in Concourse F, but this is only for international travelers.
Irene Wright is the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.

source