Atlanta Airport Unveils Ambitious Renovation Plans

Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is a utilitarian workhorse. The busiest most traveled airport in the world for going on two decades, Atlanta lacks in style what it makes up for in sheer expansiveness. But the days of lackluster design and 1980s orange paneling are numbered as the city unveils a drastic overhaul of the aging facility in the form of a 20-year capital plan.

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Unveiled at this week's State of the Airport event, plans call for more than $6 billion of investments to approve the function and aesthetics of the 36-year-old facility. New parking decks will provide more space for vehicles and improve traffic flow, while a massive arched glass canopy will shield those being dropped off from the elements, highlighted in a video created by ATLNext. Inside, plans call for the transformation of the decidedly dated decor of the domestic terminal and concourses into more modern accommodations, modeled after the new international terminal, according to 11Alive.

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Seemingly, the sky is the limit when it comes to what the $6 billion project could bring. In the long-run, airport officials indicate there are plans to construct a Concourse G and add a sixth runway, increasing the capacity of the already busy facility. At the same time as the public investment ramps up, plans for a Portman-designed hotel in the parking lot of the domestic terminal are being finalized. It seems that ATL is cleared for takeoff.

• Atlanta airport announces $6 billion expansion plan [11 Alive]