Getting around by air

Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport expects a record number of travelers over the busy holiday period, and knowing what to expect can increase your chances of handling the hassles with ease, so you can make it to your destination smoothly. This year there are a variety of new roadblocks, airline policy changes and expanded airport amenities. Here’s a guide to the latest updates at Hartsfield-Jackson to help ensure you take to the skies as a savvy traveler. NEW AIRPORT AMENITIES

■ EATERIES: New food and beverage options at HartsfieldJackson this year include a new Concourse C food court with Krispy Kreme, Leeann Chin, Great Wraps, Bantam + Biddy, and Saladworks.

■ BANK: SunTrust now has a branch in the domestic terminal and ATMs in the airport’s terminals and concourses.

■ TRIBUTE WALL: A wall in tribute to civil rights icon U.S. Rep. John Lewis is now in the domestic terminal atrium.

■ LOTTO: Georgia Lottery closed its Terminal South and Terminal North locations, and now has a new location on the south side of the atrium across from Delta Air Lines baggage claim. There’s also a Georgia Lottery location on Concourse T.

AIRLINES

■ ANIMAL RULES: Delta limits each passenger to one emotional support animal, prohibits pit bulls as service or support animals on flights, and requires those traveling with emotional support animals or psychiatric service animals to submit forms online 48 hours in advance. Delta this year discontinued its ban on emotional support animals on flights longer than 8 hours. Southwest Airlines also limits each passenger to one emotional support animal, which must be either a cat or a dog.

■ NEW DELTA BOARDING: Delta this year launched a new boarding process. The process is a color-coded system based on fare class. Business class, first class, premium economy, comfort+, main cabin and basic economy will each have a different color. The new process has more boarding groups, with the goal of having a smaller group of passengers lining up at a time.

■ UPGRADES: Delta now allows SkyMiles frequent flyer members to use miles to upgrade their seats via the Fly Delta app, in addition to allowing upgrades with miles after purchase via its website.

■ CUSTOMER SERVICE VIA TEXT: Delta now allows customers to use Apple text messaging for customer service by clicking on “Message Us” in the Fly Delta app.

AIRPORT SECURITY

■ SECURITY LINE CHOICES: Standard, PreCheck and Clear

■ STANDARD: Standard TSA lines require travelers to remove their coats, shoes and belts; take permitted liquids out of carry-ons, and remove large electronic devices (including tablets and laptops) from bags. There are three checkpoints in the domestic terminal — Main, South and North. The international terminal has its own security checkpoint.

TSA CHECKPOINT HOURS

■ Domestic Main: 24 hours ■ Domestic North and South: 4 a.m.-8 p.m. ■ International: 5 a.m.-midnight

TSA PRECHECK:

TSA PreCheck offers expedited screening, with the chance to keep on your shoes, belt and jacket and leave liquids in your suitcase. It costs $85 for five years. You can sign up online and schedule an appointment at a PreCheck enrollment center. There is a registration center in HartsfieldJackson’s domestic terminal and one on Concourse A.

PRECHECK LANE HOURS

■ Domestic Main: 5 a.m.-9 p.m.

■ Domestic North: 5 a.m.-7 p.m.

■ International terminal: 6:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.

CLEAR:

Biometric ID technology firm Clear operates security lines at the Main checkpoint and South checkpoint at Hartsfield-Jackson, selling $179 annual memberships for access to special airport security lines that are often shorter. Delta offers discounted Clear memberships to SkyMiles frequent flyers.

There is a Clear PreCheck line that offers benefits of both Clear lines and PreCheck expedited screening at the main checkpoint with an entrance from the South hallway. There is a Clear standard line at the South checkpoint for non-PreCheck travelers.

NEW ID REQUIREMENTS COMING:

Starting in October 2020, travelers will need a “Real ID” to get through airport security checkpoints. Real ID driver licenses are designated with a star in the top right corner. Most Georgia drivers have the updated Real ID licenses, but those with older licenses that are not Real ID compliant should get new licenses if they plan to use them during air travel in October 2020 or later.

TSA SMART LANES:

Most of the lanes at the Transportation Security Administration’s domestic security checkpoints are automated screening lanes, and this year a different version of automated screening was installed in some lanes at the international terminal’s main checkpoint.

The “smart” automated screening lanes are aimed at speeding the process of security screening, but they require a different process for travelers and can take some getting used to.

If you are in the domestic terminal at an automated screening lane with larger bins and metal conveyors, here’s what you need to know: 1 If you’re next in line and any of the five bin-loading stations opens up, proceed to it. Don’t just wait behind the person in front of you if there is an empty station available. 2 Everything must go into a bin, including roll-aboard suitcases and other carry-on luggage. And be aware that oversized carry-on luggage won’t fit, even though the bins are 25 percent larger. 3 Push the bin onto the conveyor belt, which will automatically move it into the X-ray machine. Then walk through the checkpoint — you don’t have to wait for the person in front of you to finish. 4 If a bin’s contents need to be manually screened, it is automatically bumped over to an alternate conveyor belt for an officer’s inspection. If your bin clears the X-ray machine, retrieve your belongings on the other side as usual. Then, put your bin on the stack at the end of the lane, where it will be automatically returned to the front of the line via a lower-level conveyor belt.

INTERNATIONAL

If you are in the international terminal at an automated screening lane with larger bins and metal conveyors, those lanes also have computed tomography (CT) machines that screen carry-on bags using 3D imagery. Here’s how the system works: 1 Look for a green indicator light below the bin loading area that shows when a station is available. 2 After filling a bin with your carry-ons, you can immediately push it forward. The bin will then sit in a middle track, where it is automatically queued onto the conveyor belt. You won’t need to jockey for a spot to push your bin onto a moving conveyor belt. 3 At the end of screening, you can leave your empty bins on the belt instead of having to stack them at the end. The conveyor belt automatically drops each empty bin onto a stack that is routed back to the start of screening to be reused.