Charlotte Douglas International Airport

Overview:

Charlotte Douglas International Airport (IATA code: CLT, ICAO code: KCLT) is a public, internationalairport located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Often referred to as Charlotte Douglas, it servesboth commercial and military uses for the Charlotte metropolitan area. Just 10 km from thecity of Charlotte, CLT spans 5,558 acres (2,249 ha). In 2019, Charlotte Douglas had the 9thmost passenger traffic in the U.S, serving over 50 million flyers. In terms of total aircraftoperations, CLT ranked 6th in the world. As a commercial-civil-military facility, the airport isalso home to the 145th Airlift Wing of the Charlotte Air National Guard base.

Quick Summary:

●Charlotte Douglas International Airport (IATA code: CLT, ICAO code: KCLT) is located justoutside of Charlotte, North Carolina in the United States

● CLT is a commercial-civil-military facility, and conducts both commercial andmilitary operations on premise. It is home of the 145th Airlift Wing of theCharlotte Air National Guard Base

● CLT is one of the busiest in the world, serving over 50 million passengers in 2019○ Charlotte douglas ranked 6th in the world in terms of total aircraftoperations

Geography:

Located at 5501 Josh Birmingham Parkway, coordinates (35° 12′ 50″ N, 80° 56′ 35″ W), CLTis 10 km west of the city of Charlotte, North Carolina. Covering 5,558 acres (2,249 ha), it’soperations are primarily run by the city of Charlotte’s aviation department. The airport has anelevation 228 m (748 ft) above average mean sea level

History:

In 1936, CLT opened as Charlotte Municipal Airport. Eastern Air Lines was the firstcompany to provide scheduled passenger services from the airport in 1937. In 1941, the U.SArmy Air Force established the Charlotte Air Base in the Airport, which was promptyrenamed to Morris Field. This property was eventually returned back to the city of Charlottein 1946, with the military having invested over 5 million dollars into the airfield by this time.

In 1954, the airport was renamed to Douglas Municipal Airport, in reference to Ben ElbertDouglas Sr. who was the mayor of Charlotte who had overlooked the opening of the airporttwo decades ago. A 70,000 sq feet (6,500 m2) passenger terminal was opened, which featuredtwo floors that included ticketing and baggage claims, a restaurant, as well as airline offices.

In the late 1960s, CLT underwent a series of renovations that significantly expanded theairport. Eastern Airlines opened eight new gates in the airport, along with several otherfacilities such as a separate snack bar and lounge for customers of the airline. A newconcourse with separate lounges for departures and an expanded luggage area wasconstructed in 1969. By spring of 1975, seven airlines operated out of Charlotte Douglas,flying 97 weekday routes to 32 destinations.

Passenger numbers at Charlotte Douglas expanded dramatically at the onset of the 1980s as aresult of airline deregulation. A 10,000 ft (3,000 m) runway and control tower was opened.CLT was chosen as the hub of Piedmont Airlines and in 1982, a brand new 325,000 sq ft(30,200 m sq) passenger terminal was constructed. The airport was officially renamed toCharlotte Douglas International Airport, and its concourses and facilities continued to beexpanded throughout the 1980s. In 1990, a 80,000 sq ft (7,400 sq m) concourse was opened,specifically designed for international travel.

In 2005, following the acquisition of U.S Airways by America West Airlines, CLT becamethe primary domestic hub for the company. In order to support the boom in demand for airtravel, over 1.5 Billion USD was spent in numerous construction projects to upgrade andexpand the airport between 2017 and 2015. In 2015, Charlotte Douglas announced“Destination CLT”, a new development plan for CLT that totaled over 2.5 billion in newinvestments. This money would be spent on everything from adding new gates to existingconcourses and the expansions of customer amenities to replacement of carpet with terrazzoand remodelled bathrooms. Aided by these new investments, Charlotte Douglas Internationalexperienced an all time high in customers served in 2019, with over 50.2 million passengerspassing through the airport in that year alone.

Facility and Operations:

Charlotte Douglas International only has one terminal, but this terminal consists of fiveconcourses and 115 gates. Each concourse is connected to the central terminal building,where ticking, baggage claim, and security activities take place.

Concourse A serves American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Airlines, Southwest Airlines,Jetblue Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and Air Canada. It has a total of 21 gates

Concourse B is solely dedicated to domestic flights in the United States, and has 16 gates

Concourse C also only serves domestic U.S flights, and has 18 gates

Concourse D serves American Airlines, Lufthansa, and Volaris, and has 13 gates.International flights without customs preclearance are also handled in concourse D

Concourse E is the base of operations for American Eagle, a regional branch of AmericanAirlines, in Charlotte Douglas. Concourse E has 46 gates.

Charlotte Douglas International has four runways, with a fifth planned for construction in thenear future. The Runways are listed below by ILS designation

18L/36R is 8,677 ft (2,645 m) long and 150 ft (46 m) wide

18C/36C is 10,000 ft (3,000 m) long and 150 ft (46 m) wide

18R/36L is 9,000 ft (2,700 m) long and 150 ft (46 m) wide

05/23 is 7,502 ft (2,287 m) and 150 ft (46 m) wide

Charlotte Douglas International also has an aviation museum located on site, as well as apublic viewing area where visitors can watch planes taxi to and from runway 18C/36C aswell as take off and land.