Newbie Question: int'l arrivals @ ATL
 

Flight is from Rome (FCO) -> ATL -> LGA on Delta. U.S. citizen.
We'll have checked bags. Plans have changed since tix were purchased, so now we just need to get to ATL and take a different flight on a different airline a few hours later. Is the process that we'lll pass through customs, grab bags, and re-check them to final destination? And if so, is there anything preventing us from taking said-baggage to another carrier, as opposed to checking it through to the FD? I'm unfamiliar with DL's policies at ATL. Any help is appreciated.

If you land at F, easy just walk out with your bag instead of rechecking.
If you land at E, more challenging as all connecting bags stay on E for the recheck. If they're small enough to go through a TSA scanner and meet carry on restrictions, just take them through security and exit either end of the airport. If not, you'd need to get them short checked to ATL and be prepared with a good reason in FCO for that.

If your FCO--LGA is a R/T ticket you should make sure you're aware that cutting out at ATL will invalidate the rest of the trip.

Otherwise I think n/f has you covered.

Looks like DL63 (assuming that's your flight from FCO to ATL) does indeed land at concourse E...

Do not count on DL short-checking your bags.

Also, remember that in IRROPS, you are ticketed to NYC, not to ATL. DL may well reroute you to JFK via CDG or AMS on AF or KL.

If OP has his bags short checked to ATL it does not matter what concourse he lands at. The bags will go to F customs. If OP lands n E, he takes the walkway to F immegration..

If the bags are checked to LGA and he lands in E, then the bags will be in E customs. OP will need to claim them there and post customs re-check them in to ATL groundside. This used to be the norm. and I assume it is still no problem, but as I do not check luggage I do not know for certain.

Well either way it will be E or F. No other concourses accept international arrivals that require customs and immigration. Honestly it doesn't matter where the flight arrives anyways. As part of international to domestic connection in Atlanta, you claim your bags and then recheck them to your final destination. In the OP"s case, they would just exit with their bags instead of rechecking them.

But it DOES matter because if it is E, then the OP's bag will go to the reclaim area instead of to F with the local traffic. If the OP picks up their bag in E, they will have to recheck it to get through security. Then the bag goes to LGA.

I don't believe that's correct. There isn't 2 separate baggage claims depending on what concourse your arrive in. It all goes to the same place. There are people who connect on every single flight so they can't differentiate between local and connecting bags. Once you go through immigration and customs, you get "spit out" into the baggage claim area. THEN if you are connecting you recheck your bag and go through a different security checkpoint. So regardless of where the inbound flight arrives, the OP will be able to pick up his/her bags and exit the airport as though they were someone whose final destination was Atlanta.

From the ATL airport website:There are also quite a few FT threads about this process.

What pgh234 says is 1000% correct!

Your scenario above is true for MOST airports, but, it DOES NOT work that way at ATL! When they added Concourse F onto the airport, this is the goofy scheme they came up with.

Anyone arriving international at Concourse E that has checked bags, has to go thru regular TSA x-ray security to get out of the airport. If the bag is small enough to fit in x-ray, AND doesn't have any large liquids, sharp items, etc. it could work. If you arrive international at Concurse F, you can just walk out after Customs. NOT at E!

What would happen if, at baggage reclaim at customs, the passenger ripped the tag off of their bag?

If they're staying in Atlanta, and they arrive at E, they'd probably get directed to the rebooking counter to get a new tag. If at F, they can just walk out.

There are also 2 different sets of immigration and customs officers.