Frequent rail riders to and from the world’s busiest airport can breathe a sigh of relief: MARTA officials say the transit authority’s Airport station is expected to open on schedule next week.

MARTA temporarily closed one of its busiest stations for six weeks beginning April 8 to more efficiently tackle renovations on platform and concourse levels. Officials say the station will reopen, for now, bright and early Monday morning.

By all indications, the temporary closure caused more concern prior to the station being shut down than actual headaches when it was no longer open. For the past few weeks, MARTA has provided shuttle buses between its College Park station and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, logging between 7,000 and 9,000 customers each day, as agency officials reported this week.

The Airport station typically sees roughly 11,000 MARTA customers pass through daily, suggesting that some airport travelers have recently opted out of public rail transportation.  

MARTA officials say the closures will help renovations be completed safely for customers and workers—and 17 months quicker than if the station remains open. Work recently completed includes new flooring, infrastructure for a new elevator, and fresh ceilings and lighting.

Designs for the MARTA canopy structure that will echo larger airport canopies. Courtesy of MARTA

Broader design work at the station will aim to mimic terminal canopies at the airport next door, but on a smaller scale. According to MARTA, the $55 million canopy installation and other renovations will boost “the safety and appearance of the rail station to best serve travelers and employees” coming to and leaving the airport. 

Additional upgrades in the pipeline include a new RideStore, a rehab of the station’s elevator, a public art installation, renovated employee spaces, and replacement of all signage.

Revised look of MARTA Airport station interiors in the works now. Courtesy of MARTA

Courtesy of MARTA

To finish the project, MARTA says the station will also be closed nightly for 10 months sometime in 2025. Another six-week closure is also possible after that, when the new canopy structure will be installed at the end of the construction process.

As the southernmost stop on MARTA's Red and Gold lines, Airport station will lend a first impression for legions of World Cup fans arriving in the city for eight matches scheduled in summer 2026.

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