ATLANTA'S MIDFIELD 1980-1981: THE FIRST FULL YEAR
Hartsfield - Jackson Atlanta International Airport's current passenger terminal, originally known as "Midfield", opened on September 21, 1980 and the following photos and maps document its first full year of operation.
Delta Air Lines already operated the world's busiest connecting hub at Atlanta's previous terminal built in 1961. With the advent of deregulation in 1978 and the opening of Midfield in 1980, they expanded their ATL operation to unprecedented levels. Within months of the new terminal opening, it was not unusual to see every gate occupied at concourse A. (A similar color photo can be seen HERE.) From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Photographs Collection.
Delta Air Lines already operated the world's busiest connecting hub at Atlanta's previous terminal built in 1961. With the advent of deregulation in 1978 and the opening of Midfield in 1980, they expanded their ATL operation to unprecedented levels. Within months of the new terminal opening, it was not unusual to see every gate occupied at concourse A. (A similar color photo can be seen HERE.) From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Photographs Collection.
Here's a pocket map published by Delta at the time the terminal opened. The actual map is only a few inches wide and folds up like an origami.
Aerial view of the newly opened complex circa 1980, facing east. From the Eastern Air Lines Collections.
A wider view of the airport in December 1980 with I-85 in the foreground. From the Central Passenger Terminal Progress Report.
Curbside at the south terminal in December 1980.
Eastern aircraft lined up along concourse C circa 1980-1981. From the Eastern Air Lines Collections.
Facing north along concourse C with the Eastern hangar in the background.
Atlanta's abandoned 1961 terminal and downtown framed by an Eastern L-1011 at concourse C.
Three of Atlanta's terminals are visible in this view facing north from the ramp control tower of concourse C. At far left, the relocated quonset-style temporary terminal building from 1948 can be seen in the Hangar One general aviation complex. At far right, the famed turquoise tower of the 1961 "Jet Age" terminal is visible. And of course, this was taken from the new "Midfield" terminal.
A view of Eastern DC-9s, 727s and an L-1011 parked at concourse C on July 7, 1981. This and the following black and white photos are from the Eastern Air Lines Collections.
This series of views of Eastern's concourse C were taken on July 7, 1981 and are from the Eastern Air Lines Collections. This is facing northeast and the entire 1961 terminal complex can be seen in the background to the right.
A similar view of the entirety of concourse C with concourse D seen at far right. The ground level commuter airline gate was located at the south end of the concourse and a Southeastern Commuter Airlines Riley Dove can be seen at bottom right. The jetways on either side of the commuter gate were used by Lockheed Air Terminal and handled charter flights from various companies.
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Nerd note: One of the many great details in the above photo is the blurry vintage Douglas DC-3 turning off to the northwest moments after departure. These cargo aircraft would make a hard turn seconds after takeoff to get out of the way of the jets waiting behind them.
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Another wonderful view of concourse C, facing northwest. Concourse B and the northern tip of concourse A can be seen to the left and the Hangar One complex, including the relocated 1948 "temporary terminal", is at top center just above the taxiing British Caledonian DC-10. Two Southeastern Commuter Airlines Doves can be seen at bottom left. Notice on the far end of concourse B , near the top center of the photo, Eastern built a large shed to handle ground equipment.
Concourse C, facing southwest. From this perspective, concourses B and A are off to the right.
The final view of concourse C on July 7, 1981 is facing southeast. Republic's maintenance and reservations center can be seen at the top of the photo. Concourse D is at left, occupied by a sole Frontier Airlines 737.
An infrared aerial photo from March 26, 1981 shows the airport 6 months after the midfield terminal opened. The abandoned 1961 terminal is at top center.
A close up of the terminal shows bustling activity at Delta's concourse A but the other concourses were relatively quiet.
I picked up this map of Atlanta International from the Republic Airlines counter at ATL in early 1981.
Jeppesen airport diagram effective April 17, 1981 courtesy of John Hewson.
The other side of the page shows the gate positions and numbers.
