As millions prepare to fly this Memorial Day weekend, officials at the world’s busiest airport encourage passengers to arrive early at Hartsfield-Jackson. 

“Memorial Day weekend is the traditional beginning of the summer travel season and we anticipate high volumes of travelers over the next few days,” said Hartsfield-Jackson General Manager Miguel Southwell. “We encourage our customers taking domestic flights to arrive at least two hours prior to their scheduled departure and three hours prior to the departure time for international destinations.”

The AAA is forecasting more than 37 million Americans will travel during the five-day Memorial Day travel period, which runs from Thursday through Tuesday. That number would represent the highest travel volume for the holiday in 10 years.

During the same five-day period, Hartsfield-Jackson is expected to be the origin, destination or connecting airport for more than 1.8 million people. 

Historically, Friday and Tuesday are the busiest travel days over the Memorial Day weekend. According to estimates provided by the airlines and the TSA’s Atlanta office, 62,350 passengers are expected to board domestic and foreign flights originating from Hartsfield-Jackson on Friday, May 22. Because those travelers need to pass through the Airport’s security checkpoints, travelers should build extra time into their schedule to allow for delays.

Travelers also are encouraged to take advantage of Hartsfield-Jackson’s new online parking reservation system, which allows travelers to reserve a space in selected parking lots before arriving. Travelers can book spaces by logging onto the airport website’s new reservation page, www.atlanta-airport.com/Passenger/Parking/PRCSPassthrough.aspx.

Travelers can keep track of security wait times by going to the airport website at www.atlanta-airport.com/Passenger/Waittimes/default.aspx. Or, they can sign up for ATL’s free Trak-a-Line service, which provides email notifications about the real-time status of the security lines. Register here: www.atlanta-airport.com/Passenger/Waittimes/register.aspx.