Remind me to avoid ATL!
 

Just sitting in the lounge having a G&T before my First flight to LHR.

However I didn't realise that TSA shuts at 5.30pm here.

So zero benefit. We were both in a wheelchair and it was dreadful. No card given and apparently all TSA Pre-check benefits cease at 5.30pm. Can't say they had a polite bone in their body.

So either arrive very early for the 9pm flight or forget any benefits you might have.

The lounge isn't brilliant, but at least they will get you a drink or three :)

Despite the new business seats here from February, I think we will give it a miss.

Okay, rant over.

But One Flew South is the finest airport restaurant I have come across. Forget the (rather disappointing IMHO) lounge and have a languid meal at OFS!

Yes, it is peculiar though the hours are published:
I will say that the International terminal has much shorter wait times for "regular" access through security. Still, with international departures going through midnight, the hour restrictions are not what one would expect.

You can show your boarding pass to be exempted from shoes and belts off and the AIT however laptops still need to come out!

Dreadful airport, dreadful lounge.

Personally, my only flights to/from ATL have been domestic with AA. Given the limitations you describe, an unnecessary connection is not an option here. ATL is a large airport, with lots of both domestic and international flights, with priority passengers flying them all. Forcing pax to check in to pass security so far in advance for a flight at 9 PM is certainly not up to scratch.

So, let me be the first to respond to your request: May I remind you to avoid ATL! :)

Yes, it is probably the worst entry/departure point on BA's USA network. though ORD's inter terminal experience is temporarily giving them a good run too. Still for probably related reasons ATL can give good redemption opportunities outside the business travel days of the week.

I remind the OP to avoid ATL altogether.

Don't waste your time in the lounge. There are some really solid restaurants in ATL.

We were flying back in F, short flight and planning dinner prior to a kip onboard. If we go back I will find a restaurant, order a nice bottle of wine and have a couple of light dishes.

That is why I always fly AA out of ATL
the AALounge is nothing to write home about , but the AA angels there are some of the best

I flew a few times internationally out of ATL with young family, and it was generally poor- with the TSA restrictions compounding a generally slow and cumbersome airport and terrible lounge experience. I avoid ATL like the plague for international travel now- Boston or Philly are my choices when connecting. Domestic travel on business is ok- but you need to allow a bit of extra time.

It's quite poor inbound too. Arrive at international terminal but then all the shuttles leave from domestic. This involves a landslide transfer on the worlds oldest bus with all your luggage. Not sure if there's a way to do this on the connector train, but I was told I'd need to be connecting to a domestic flight to do that.

Everything at ATL is drawn up in Delta's favor. So if you're starting in the small market Southeast (Charleston, Hilton Head, Pensacola, Knoxville,. etc) it can actually be a very good airport and connection experience. Any services for those not flying Delta or a first tier SkyTeam partner are provided with reluctance and a deep grudge. Including forcing you to use a shuttle bus to get back to South Terminal for security screening after checking in at the International Terminal.

(And I know One Flew South gets all the press but we like the menu at Ecco better)

Ben and Jerry's, as well

I actually would say ATL is one of the better airports in the US (yes I understand this isn’t a high bar to set).

With that said, ATL has some of the best restaurants of any airport in the US and is one of the easiest to transit. You can always clear precheck on the domestic side and ride the train out to F if it’s closed on the intl side.