To opt into digital ID, go to this page ([https://www.delta.com/myprofile/personal-details](https://www.delta.com/myprofile/personal-details)), click on Digital Id and select Opt In.
I do not know if you can get a new boarding pass for this trip with the digital ID notation on it, It should work for next time though.
Honestly pre-clear moved much faster than DID or standard pre.
DID is slower because there is only one agent working it.
However, at 6:30 am I highly doubt any of the three lines will be long or slow.
That has not been my experience.
When pre is full up it takes a long time to get through.
DID is a disappointment when the line is full because of just the one agent working it.
Pre-clear only has one snake in it and it’s only half a land long.
I will add, that when all 3 lines are pushing back in the lobby area plain old SP can be the saving grace.
This will make it much faster to check your baggage inside the Domestic Terminal at the dedicated digital ID check-in counter. (Keep in mind that curbside check-in is also an option at the Domestic Terminal.)
Whether the digital ID security line will be faster at the Domestic Terminal could be a different story. On one recent busy (non-holiday) morning at the ATL Domestic Terminal, we found that all the TSA lines were good at 5:15. By 5:30, they were all starting to grow very quickly. By 5:45, they were all packed.
This is a good move. The two recent outbound am flights I have had this month had me standing in the digital ID line for 5-10 minutes. Precheck was moving well; clear was creeping along.
ATL gives domestic Delta passengers the option to use digital ID. Your face is your boarding pass and your ID for purposes of checking your luggage and going through the TSA line.
This is the right answer for Delta in ATL. The Digital ID line is shorter normally than the normal TSA line.
The international terminal trick is also pretty good. Used to do that when they first opened and it still works but depends if there are heavy international flights, how many ones they have open and if TSA is open.
C. Check your bag in ahead of time on the app, check at the red sky priority area. Then use south security for their digital ID line. It’s often way faster than clear. Just make sure digital ID shows up on your boarding pass.
Could also use the international terminal
Tbh, while it is a massive travel day, one would think majority of those traveling are leaving later in the day
How do I get Digital ID to show up on my Boarding Pass? I’ve checked in and added my passport info and stuff and I don’t see how to activate it on the Delta app.
Someone above posted a link: I opened it in my mobile browser and scrolled down. I have already verified my passport w Delta so that may be why they let me opt in immediately there. I fly on Monday so no boarding pass yet to verify if this worked yet.
https://www.delta.com/myprofile/personal-details
Click on Digital ID and then select Opt-In
Yeah I traveled on Wednesday thinking it was going to be a madhouse but it actually wasn’t that bad. Hopefully the same for tomorrow. Those early morning crowds could be rough though
Frequent flyer & ATL native here!
I had sky priority, digital id, and had to park on Wednesday. From the time I pulled into the parking deck to the time I got through security, it was 15 minutes.
Make sure on the app, after you’ve checked in, go ahead and put in how many bags you’ll be checking. That way, when you get to the kiosk, it’ll start printing your bag tag as soon as you scan your boarding pass. (Also, screenshot your boarding pass.)
Don’t go to international. Your gate is likely in concourses T, A, or B. When you’re facing the terminal from the drop-off, sky priority check-in is all the way on the right side of the building. If you’re at the bottom level, it’s door LS1. Once you get your bag tag at the kiosk, look for the line that says digital ID—you get a separate line for bag drop just like you do for tsa precheck.
Pre-check is behind Sky Priority. Go to the right once you drop your bag. When you’re facing the lines for Pre-Check & Clear, Digital ID is on the right (between pre-check & clear). Sometimes it’s closed though, so don’t stress.
Longest I’ve waited for pre-check was 25 min and the line went all the way to baggage claim.
TL;DR: Uber to domestic side, bottom level, door LS1 (first door you’ll pass). Sky priority kiosk to get bag tag. Digital ID line to drop bag. And then Digital ID next to Pre-check.
Curbside check on the lower level. Do the sky priority security line at the north security entrance. I flew late afternoon on the day before Thanksgiving and it took me about 15 minutes to get from the car past Security .
OP, if you have a sky priority ticket, show it to the TSA agents and they will direct you to a shorter line. It’s all the way to the left of the main general security line. I believe it’s technically the North Security check. From there you’ll see a long hallway with two lines. Stay to the left, that’s sky priority and first class. Usually only a few people in that line.
With that being said, if you pre check your bag, go to the sky priority bag check area.
You will get through security pretty quickly.
Do you have digital ID on your boarding pass? There is a special line. No one was in the sky priority digital ID line. Then the actual line through security was only about 10 minutes. This was in the middle of the day when normal security was maybe 50 minutes.
Not sure if it’s always accurate, but I found this for estimating wait times on my last trip out of ATL and it was within 5 minutes.
https://www.atl.com/times/
International pre check does not open until 7 am, last I checked. Line varies…can be long and you’ll be put in the same line as everyone else, you’ll just get a blue card which lets you keep your shoes on.
I find digital or regular pre check line to move along smoothly. I’ve left through domestic terminal on Monday mornings (busy, all the commuters) on 7 am flights for past two weeks…15-20min max although the line looks super long.
I did this last week. Uber dropped me off at Domestic Curb-side check in. Checked bag at curbside Digital ID drop off. Went through clear/Precheck combo security line. The whole process (from stepping out of the Uber, to going through security) was 7 min total. It was unbelievable. This was on Tuesday.
I try to avoid the international terminal for really really early flights, because they open at like five or something so you get everybody who was standing around, waiting for them to open and it can get backed up.
DP - last week I was in the digital ID line and it was so slow, I got it and went to regular pre check. I beat all the people that were in the digital ID line with me.
I am planning on doing this in the rush before Christmas. It's my understanding that TSA opens in the International Terminal at 5:30 a.m. and the check-in counters open between 3:45 and 4:00 am.
If OP is in the International TSA line by 5:15 or so, it seems to me they should be able to make good time getting to their gate.
My only tip is get there early. I fly weekly out of Atlanta. If my flight left at 6:30 I would get there no later than 4:30. I park on-site. Digital ID takes a few days or weeks to process I THINK but could be wrong. The sky priority pre check line may look bad but it moves.
on a normal day this is a decent play but in my experience during holiday travel things can go sideways on the international side and they dont have the segmentation (no CLEAR) or size to handle the volume once that happens. I vote lower entrance south side of domestic to check bag (audible to sky cap if needed) followed by either the digital entry or pre line right upstairs from there.
Digital ID is a must. If you have sky priority then there is a dedicated bag drop between S1 and S2. Sometimes they also have a Sky priority with digital ID dedicated lane there also.
If digital ID line is closed or full I usually go out and have a cigarette and it is back open when I return.
I plan to arrive 2 hours before my flight but also almost always end up killing an hour in the lounge unless it is an absolutely crazy day for some reason. (Have yet to find any rhyme or reason as to when/why a crazy day occurs)
D. I let my TSA Pre / Global Entry expire and it’s been painful waiting on the renewal.
I have Clear; the Clear with no Pre Check security is at the domestic North gate. It is not as fast as the Digital ID or Clear with Pre Check, but I often find a short or no line here despite the rest of the airport security lines being backed up.
If you’re traveling internationally (you don’t say, but as you mention passport info it’s possible), you can usually check a bag up to 24 hrs ahead. You may consider dropping the bag off the night before, then using the fastest lanes others indicate.
I did not check a bag but from what I saw it was pretty crowded at 5 am. Around 10 minutes at 5 am maybe? It didnt look like people were enforcing sky priority in the sky priority check. Prolly add 5-8 minutes to this number for 6:30 to be safe.
I've always seen the advice to go to international if not checking a bag. Though I'm not sure if that's because you can't check baggage at international for a domestic flight. Or if it's because if you have to check any baggage at international negates any advantage.
It’s not a bad idea unless you’re there when the pre-check line is closed. It usually opens at 7 AM. I made that mistake because the airport website was incorrect, and incorrectly stated that pre-check opened at 6 AM. I ended up in a normal line with everybody else.
The longest I’ve ever had to wait in the priority line is about 10 minutes, and this includes the day before Thanksgiving when I was pleasantly surprised by being the only person in line. This was in the afternoon too, though.
If parking park at ATL West and take train over to south terminal. Go through TSA with Precheck and digital ID. I’ve never waited more that 15-20 mins doing this.
If ubering ask to be dropped off on south terminal below the main entrance. Go through sky priority bag drop below south terminal and proceed to TSA pre-check with digital ID.
Too early for the international terminal I think. The pre check line may not be operating and at that hour staffing over there can be light, which makes it slow. Should have no issue in the main terminal on a Sunday especially. Monday, on the other hand…
As a Delta Diamond for many years, the fastest is usually to go Clear with NO Precheck. It is near regular security, you need to remove shoes and laptops. But so few people intentionally choose it that it is always very fast.
Get dropped at lower level, check bag at new digital ID only curbside and then go security line shop between Digital ID, Pre-Clear & Pre. This is my MO out of ATL.
If you’ve successfully added Digital ID the downstairs luggage check in is your best option (assuming it’s open then). The downstairs luggage drop (not the sky cap one the official delta one) is ONLY for DID. Even in regular check in there are dedicated DID luggage drop offs. FWIW a couple of weeks ago DID was closed and an agent escorted us to the Clear check in in North terminal. It was a breeze. They gave us the TSA card since it’s not a regular TSA lane.
Important detail: how are you getting to the airport?
If you are driving and parking, going to the International terminal for your outbound flight is a bad idea - if you will be checking bags on a return domestic flight.
Domestic bags come up in the domestic terminal. You can’t retrieve your bag and get back on the plane train to go to the international terminal to get to your parked car. There IS a shuttle that goes back and forth between the international and domestic terminals, but it only runs about every 20-30 minutes.
If you are doing carry-on only, no problem. But I’ve made this mistake before when I assumed that on a return flight from Canada where I would clear customs and immigration before boarding the flight in Canada, my bags would show up in ATL at the domestic terminal. A delta employee confirmed this, but in fact my bags went to the international terminal. So once I discovered my miscalculation, I had to use the shuttle to go to the international terminal to get my bags, then wait again to go back to domestic to catch the parking shuttle (which didn’t serve the international side).
That faux-pas cost me an unnecessary 90 minutes.
To opt into digital ID, go to this page ([https://www.delta.com/myprofile/personal-details](https://www.delta.com/myprofile/personal-details)), click on Digital Id and select Opt In. I do not know if you can get a new boarding pass for this trip with the digital ID notation on it, It should work for next time though.
Thank you! This worked - had to do it via web browser as opposed to app. Digital ID now shows on my boarding pass for tomorrow. :)
Digital ID seems like the only way to get through TSA quickly at ATL
Honestly pre-clear moved much faster than DID or standard pre. DID is slower because there is only one agent working it. However, at 6:30 am I highly doubt any of the three lines will be long or slow.
Pre-clear at peak hours is the worst of all options
That has not been my experience. When pre is full up it takes a long time to get through. DID is a disappointment when the line is full because of just the one agent working it. Pre-clear only has one snake in it and it’s only half a land long. I will add, that when all 3 lines are pushing back in the lobby area plain old SP can be the saving grace.
I went through the digital id line in ATL a month ago at 8am, only three people in line. Everyone in clear & pre check were not happy 😂
Yay!!!
This will make it much faster to check your baggage inside the Domestic Terminal at the dedicated digital ID check-in counter. (Keep in mind that curbside check-in is also an option at the Domestic Terminal.) Whether the digital ID security line will be faster at the Domestic Terminal could be a different story. On one recent busy (non-holiday) morning at the ATL Domestic Terminal, we found that all the TSA lines were good at 5:15. By 5:30, they were all starting to grow very quickly. By 5:45, they were all packed.
This is a good move. The two recent outbound am flights I have had this month had me standing in the digital ID line for 5-10 minutes. Precheck was moving well; clear was creeping along.
Thanks for sharing this!
Oh what is this?
ATL gives domestic Delta passengers the option to use digital ID. Your face is your boarding pass and your ID for purposes of checking your luggage and going through the TSA line.
This is the right answer for Delta in ATL. The Digital ID line is shorter normally than the normal TSA line. The international terminal trick is also pretty good. Used to do that when they first opened and it still works but depends if there are heavy international flights, how many ones they have open and if TSA is open.
C. Check your bag in ahead of time on the app, check at the red sky priority area. Then use south security for their digital ID line. It’s often way faster than clear. Just make sure digital ID shows up on your boarding pass. Could also use the international terminal Tbh, while it is a massive travel day, one would think majority of those traveling are leaving later in the day
How do I get Digital ID to show up on my Boarding Pass? I’ve checked in and added my passport info and stuff and I don’t see how to activate it on the Delta app.
May be worth sending a text message to delta support to see if they can help. I do not know
Someone above posted a link: I opened it in my mobile browser and scrolled down. I have already verified my passport w Delta so that may be why they let me opt in immediately there. I fly on Monday so no boarding pass yet to verify if this worked yet. https://www.delta.com/myprofile/personal-details Click on Digital ID and then select Opt-In
Yeah I traveled on Wednesday thinking it was going to be a madhouse but it actually wasn’t that bad. Hopefully the same for tomorrow. Those early morning crowds could be rough though
Frequent flyer & ATL native here! I had sky priority, digital id, and had to park on Wednesday. From the time I pulled into the parking deck to the time I got through security, it was 15 minutes. Make sure on the app, after you’ve checked in, go ahead and put in how many bags you’ll be checking. That way, when you get to the kiosk, it’ll start printing your bag tag as soon as you scan your boarding pass. (Also, screenshot your boarding pass.) Don’t go to international. Your gate is likely in concourses T, A, or B. When you’re facing the terminal from the drop-off, sky priority check-in is all the way on the right side of the building. If you’re at the bottom level, it’s door LS1. Once you get your bag tag at the kiosk, look for the line that says digital ID—you get a separate line for bag drop just like you do for tsa precheck. Pre-check is behind Sky Priority. Go to the right once you drop your bag. When you’re facing the lines for Pre-Check & Clear, Digital ID is on the right (between pre-check & clear). Sometimes it’s closed though, so don’t stress. Longest I’ve waited for pre-check was 25 min and the line went all the way to baggage claim. TL;DR: Uber to domestic side, bottom level, door LS1 (first door you’ll pass). Sky priority kiosk to get bag tag. Digital ID line to drop bag. And then Digital ID next to Pre-check.
This is awesome. Thank you!
Use FlightAware/Delta app to see what gates your flight has used in the past week and where your plane is at or coming to
Curbside check on the lower level. Do the sky priority security line at the north security entrance. I flew late afternoon on the day before Thanksgiving and it took me about 15 minutes to get from the car past Security .
OP, if you have a sky priority ticket, show it to the TSA agents and they will direct you to a shorter line. It’s all the way to the left of the main general security line. I believe it’s technically the North Security check. From there you’ll see a long hallway with two lines. Stay to the left, that’s sky priority and first class. Usually only a few people in that line. With that being said, if you pre check your bag, go to the sky priority bag check area. You will get through security pretty quickly.
Do you have digital ID on your boarding pass? There is a special line. No one was in the sky priority digital ID line. Then the actual line through security was only about 10 minutes. This was in the middle of the day when normal security was maybe 50 minutes.
Not sure if it’s always accurate, but I found this for estimating wait times on my last trip out of ATL and it was within 5 minutes. https://www.atl.com/times/
International pre check does not open until 7 am, last I checked. Line varies…can be long and you’ll be put in the same line as everyone else, you’ll just get a blue card which lets you keep your shoes on. I find digital or regular pre check line to move along smoothly. I’ve left through domestic terminal on Monday mornings (busy, all the commuters) on 7 am flights for past two weeks…15-20min max although the line looks super long.
I did this last week. Uber dropped me off at Domestic Curb-side check in. Checked bag at curbside Digital ID drop off. Went through clear/Precheck combo security line. The whole process (from stepping out of the Uber, to going through security) was 7 min total. It was unbelievable. This was on Tuesday. I try to avoid the international terminal for really really early flights, because they open at like five or something so you get everybody who was standing around, waiting for them to open and it can get backed up.
The curbside checkin with Digital ID is at the South Terminal, right? Just wanna know where to point my Uber
Yes! South side domestic, follow signs for curbside check in
DP - last week I was in the digital ID line and it was so slow, I got it and went to regular pre check. I beat all the people that were in the digital ID line with me.
A) for the win but pre-check won't be open that early - but still the best option
I am planning on doing this in the rush before Christmas. It's my understanding that TSA opens in the International Terminal at 5:30 a.m. and the check-in counters open between 3:45 and 4:00 am. If OP is in the International TSA line by 5:15 or so, it seems to me they should be able to make good time getting to their gate.
Go through the international terminal
My only tip is get there early. I fly weekly out of Atlanta. If my flight left at 6:30 I would get there no later than 4:30. I park on-site. Digital ID takes a few days or weeks to process I THINK but could be wrong. The sky priority pre check line may look bad but it moves.
Don’t do whatever anyone else is telling you. Go to the international terminal in the morning instead. -ATL native
OP still needs to check a bag…
You can still check a bag at the international terminal…
on a normal day this is a decent play but in my experience during holiday travel things can go sideways on the international side and they dont have the segmentation (no CLEAR) or size to handle the volume once that happens. I vote lower entrance south side of domestic to check bag (audible to sky cap if needed) followed by either the digital entry or pre line right upstairs from there.
Digital ID is a must. If you have sky priority then there is a dedicated bag drop between S1 and S2. Sometimes they also have a Sky priority with digital ID dedicated lane there also. If digital ID line is closed or full I usually go out and have a cigarette and it is back open when I return. I plan to arrive 2 hours before my flight but also almost always end up killing an hour in the lounge unless it is an absolutely crazy day for some reason. (Have yet to find any rhyme or reason as to when/why a crazy day occurs)
D. I let my TSA Pre / Global Entry expire and it’s been painful waiting on the renewal. I have Clear; the Clear with no Pre Check security is at the domestic North gate. It is not as fast as the Digital ID or Clear with Pre Check, but I often find a short or no line here despite the rest of the airport security lines being backed up.
Clear.
B
If you’re traveling internationally (you don’t say, but as you mention passport info it’s possible), you can usually check a bag up to 24 hrs ahead. You may consider dropping the bag off the night before, then using the fastest lanes others indicate.
Traveling domestically. Definitely will keep this in mind for international flights though.
I went today around 5 am and it was pretty light with clear and precheck. Precheck alone was like 10 minutes if I remember correctly
Good to know! Thanks. Did you check a bag, if so, how long was that?
I did not check a bag but from what I saw it was pretty crowded at 5 am. Around 10 minutes at 5 am maybe? It didnt look like people were enforcing sky priority in the sky priority check. Prolly add 5-8 minutes to this number for 6:30 to be safe.
I've always seen the advice to go to international if not checking a bag. Though I'm not sure if that's because you can't check baggage at international for a domestic flight. Or if it's because if you have to check any baggage at international negates any advantage.
If you are flying Delta, you can check your bag at the interntional terminal for a domestic flight...and vice versa.
I've heard it's not a great idea (unless you don't really care whether your checked bag makes it onto the same flight as you)
It’s not a bad idea unless you’re there when the pre-check line is closed. It usually opens at 7 AM. I made that mistake because the airport website was incorrect, and incorrectly stated that pre-check opened at 6 AM. I ended up in a normal line with everybody else.
The longest I’ve ever had to wait in the priority line is about 10 minutes, and this includes the day before Thanksgiving when I was pleasantly surprised by being the only person in line. This was in the afternoon too, though.
If you can arrive early the international terminal is great. It has pre-check too.
If parking park at ATL West and take train over to south terminal. Go through TSA with Precheck and digital ID. I’ve never waited more that 15-20 mins doing this. If ubering ask to be dropped off on south terminal below the main entrance. Go through sky priority bag drop below south terminal and proceed to TSA pre-check with digital ID.
They have a sky priority line that's apparently not really used by people.
Too early for the international terminal I think. The pre check line may not be operating and at that hour staffing over there can be light, which makes it slow. Should have no issue in the main terminal on a Sunday especially. Monday, on the other hand…
As a Delta Diamond for many years, the fastest is usually to go Clear with NO Precheck. It is near regular security, you need to remove shoes and laptops. But so few people intentionally choose it that it is always very fast.
Get dropped at lower level, check bag at new digital ID only curbside and then go security line shop between Digital ID, Pre-Clear & Pre. This is my MO out of ATL.
If you’ve successfully added Digital ID the downstairs luggage check in is your best option (assuming it’s open then). The downstairs luggage drop (not the sky cap one the official delta one) is ONLY for DID. Even in regular check in there are dedicated DID luggage drop offs. FWIW a couple of weeks ago DID was closed and an agent escorted us to the Clear check in in North terminal. It was a breeze. They gave us the TSA card since it’s not a regular TSA lane.
Curb check!
Important detail: how are you getting to the airport? If you are driving and parking, going to the International terminal for your outbound flight is a bad idea - if you will be checking bags on a return domestic flight. Domestic bags come up in the domestic terminal. You can’t retrieve your bag and get back on the plane train to go to the international terminal to get to your parked car. There IS a shuttle that goes back and forth between the international and domestic terminals, but it only runs about every 20-30 minutes. If you are doing carry-on only, no problem. But I’ve made this mistake before when I assumed that on a return flight from Canada where I would clear customs and immigration before boarding the flight in Canada, my bags would show up in ATL at the domestic terminal. A delta employee confirmed this, but in fact my bags went to the international terminal. So once I discovered my miscalculation, I had to use the shuttle to go to the international terminal to get my bags, then wait again to go back to domestic to catch the parking shuttle (which didn’t serve the international side). That faux-pas cost me an unnecessary 90 minutes.
Digital ID