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Airport Charlotte/Douglas (USA) - International

This article is about airport in Charlotte, North Carolina. For municipal airports with the same name, see Douglas Municipal Airport. For international airports with the same name, see Douglas International Airport.
Charlotte Douglas International Airport

IATA: CLT ICAO: KCLT FAA: CLT
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner City of Charlotte
Operator Charlotte, North Carolina
Serves Charlotte metropolitan area
Location 228
Elevation AMSL 748 ft / m
Coordinates 35°1250N 80°5635W / 35.21389, -80.94306
Website Charlotte Douglas International Airport (official site)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
5/23 7,502 2,287 Asphalt/Concrete
18L/36R 8,674 2,644 Asphalt/Concrete
18R/36L 10,000 3,048 Concrete
Statistics (2006/2007)
Passengers 33,165,688 (2007)
Aircraft operations 509,559 (2006)
Source: Passenger statistics from CLT[1]
Aircraft operations statistics from ACI[2]

Charlotte Douglas International Airport (IATA: CLT, ICAO: KCLT, FAA LID: CLT) is a public international airport located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Established in 1935 as Charlotte Municipal Airport, in 1954 the airport was renamed Douglas Municipal Airport after former Charlotte mayor Ben Elbert Douglas, Sr. The airport gained its current name in 1982 and is currently US Airways' largest hub, with service to 135 domestic and international destinations as of 2008.[3] In 2007, it was the 30th busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic. In March 2008, 75.2 percent of flights arrived on-time to Charlotte Douglas (6th out of the 32 major U.S. airports).[4]

Contents

History

The early years

The city received a $200,000 grant from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1930 to establish Charlotte's first municipal airport.

In 1936, the Charlotte Municipal Airport opened and was operated by the City of Charlotte. Eastern Air Lines began its first regularly scheduled passenger service in 1937. The original passenger terminal is still at the airport, and is now the Carolinas Aviation Museum. The United States Army Air Forces took control of the airport and established Morris Field Air Base in 1941.

1950 to mid-1960s: into the jet age

In 1950, Eastern Airlines began regularly scheduled passenger service from CLT. In 1954, a 70,000 square foot passenger terminal opened, and the airport was renamed Douglas Municipal Airport in honor of former Charlotte Mayor Ben Elbert Douglas, Sr. The terminal had two floors, although passenger operations were confined to the ground floor. Ticketing and baggage claim were located on each side of an open space which bisected the building from north to south, and a mezzanine restaurant and various airline offices overlooked this open space. Delta Air Lines began regularly scheduled passenger service in 1956.

Eastern Air Lines began the region's first regularly scheduled jet service in 1962. Eastern used the west pier, Piedmont and Delta the center pier, and United and Southern used the east pier.

Late 1960s to 1978: growth pre-deregulation

A major renovation project in the late 1960s expanded the facility considerably. Eastern opened a 'unit terminal' in 1967, replacing the old west pier. This new facility had 8 dedicated gates for Eastern, each with its own departure lounge, as well as a snack bar and separate baggage claim space. Eastern passengers continued to check in at the main terminal.

Two years later in 1969, a new enclosed concourse was built parallel to the center pier. When it was completed, Piedmont, Eastern and Delta moved in and the old center pier was demolished. The new concourse also had separate departure lounges, as well as restrooms and an enlarged baggage claim area. United's flights continued to the use the east pier, although an enclosed holdroom was added for waiting passengers.

In 1973, Eastern added two more gates to the end of its west concourse.

1978 to 1989: Becoming a major hub

After airline deregulation in 1978, passenger numbers at the terminal nearly doubled between 1978 and 1980, and a new 10,000-foot parallel runway and control tower were opened in 1979 to handle the increased passenger loads. The airport's master plan also called for construction of a new terminal across the runway from the existing site. Ground for this expansion was broken in 1979.

In 1979, Piedmont Airlines dedicated Charlotte as the hub for its rapidly expanding route network. To accommodate the booming growth of the facility, a new 325,000-square-foot passenger terminal opened in 1982, and the airport was renamed Charlotte Douglas International Airport. In 1987, Piedmont inaugurated non-stop service to London.

In the mid-1980s, the old terminal site was converted in to a cargo center, and the central concourse and Eastern 'unit terminal' were removed to make way for larger, more modern cargo buildings. The original main building still stands, however, and is used for office space. The old control tower was removed in the late 1990s.

In 1989, Piedmont merged with USAir, the new merged operations kept the USAir name.

1990 to 2004: the influence of US Airways

In 1990, a new 80,000 square-foot international and commuter concourse opened, and in 1991 further expansion of the terminal buildings continued, reflective of USAir's dominating presence at the airport.

In 1992, Lufthansa began Boeing 747 service to Germany; however, this service was discontinued shortly thereafter. In 1994, British Airways began service to London via a "global alliance" with USAir. This has since been discontinued, as the airlines have chosen opposite alliances. Lufthansa did restart service to Charlotte and now operates flights between Charlotte and Munich, Germany.

When USAir became US Airways in 1996, Charlotte remained its largest hub in terms of passenger traffic, and in 1999, plans were announced for the construction of a regional carrier concourse (present-day Concourse E) and for the expansion of Concourses A and D.

In 2002, the new 26-gate Concourse E opened,[5] and US Airways also began non-stop service to Belize, Freeport, Providenciales, Punta Cana, and St. Croix.

In 2003, the main ticketing hall was expanded to the east, providing 13 additional ticketing counters and a new security checkpoint; and Concourse D was expanded by an additional 9 gates. That year, US Airways began service to Costa Rica, Mexico City, and St. Kitts. Lufthansa also returned to the airport, this time providing service to Munich.


2005 and beyond

Following America West Airlines' acquisition of US Airways in a reverse takeover, [6] Charlotte (CLT) remains the primary domestic hub for the airline. However, the vast majority of US Airways' international routes are served out of the airline's second-largest hub, Philadelphia. In April 2007, Charlotte was the fastest growing airport in the US. [7] CLT went on to surpass its sister hub in Philadelphia as one of the 30 busiest airports in the world in terms of passenger traffic.[citation needed] A new terminal to the northwest of the center of the airport will be built in the near future, possibly as a Caribbean/Latin America international terminal. As a result, rental car agencies will reportedly be placed in the bottom level of the closer 2 parking decks. Concourse E is currently being expanded to include a wing that can hold 8-12 gates. The US Department of Transportation have tentatively awarded US Airways for a Charlotte-Philadelphia-Beijing route to begin in March 2009. The service will not operate with the same plane, however, with passengers having to switch to different aircraft when arriving in Philadelphia.
June 10, 2008 Lufthansa upgraded its' daily service from Munich to Charlotte with an Airbus A340-600, marking the first time Charlotte has ever been serviced daily with an aircraft of that size.

 This section does not cite any references or sources. (March 2008)
Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Construction

Runway Construction - Construction of CLT's third parallel runway began in the spring of 2007. At 9,000 feet long, the new "third parallel" will allow three independent approaches for arrivals, automatically increasing air service by 33 percent.

Construction will involve two phases. The first phase, which began in March of 2007, includes grading and drainage. The second phase, which will include the paving and lighting of the runway, is scheduled to begin on July 4th, 2008[8].

The anticipated runway completion date is January 2010. The project is funded through federal grants, passenger facility charges and bond funds. The Runway construction also has planned to reroute several roads around the airport. Within these plans, a new interchange at the I-485 Outerbelt is planned to connect the airport and another relocated road.

Parking

The parking options at Charlotte Douglas have drastically improved in recent years. There have been two new Daily Parking decks erected since 2005, providing almost 6,000 additional parking spaces for the traveling public. There are also two Long Term lots, with a combined almost 6,500 spaces. There is also the Remote lot, which is between the Daily and Long Term lots, with about 1,500 spaces. Charlotte's close-in surface and deck parking exits are serviced by part-time personnel from booths apparently dating to the 1982 terminal expansion. The Daily parking rates at CLT are some of the lowest in the nation, with Long Term & Remote parking costing $3 per day, Daily Parking $6 per day, and Hourly $2 per hour with a maximum charge of $18 per day. Hourly also allows the first 30 minutes of parking free of charge. Staff audits every parking area each evening to upload license plate data to ensure each vehicle is assessed the correct parking fee when it exits. The airport has recently aligned with a customer service program called SmartPark, which allows customers to call a hotline 24 hours a day to receive updates on parking conditions. Charlotte Douglas also has Valet parking that provides vehicle washing and detailing and even paintless dent removal services for an additional charge.

Inbound and outbound directional/informational signs are poorly positioned creating problems for first time arrivals. There is a free cell-phone parking area for people to wait for inbound passengers.

Incidents and accidents

Airlines and destinations

Concourse A

Concourse A has 12 Gates: A1 - A12. Gates A5 and A7 are officially designated as common-use gates and can be used by any airline depending on an operational need.

Concourse B

Concourse B has 16 Gates: B1 - B16

Concourse C

Concourse C has 18 Gates: C2 - C19

Concourse D

Concourse D has 13 Gates: D1 - D13

Concourse E

Concourse E has 32 Gates: E1 - E32A

References

Notes
  1. ^ Passenger statistics for CLT
  2. ^ Traffic Movements 2006 FINAL from Airports Council International
  3. ^ "Charlotte Faces Loss of Hub Status and Potential for Big Service Cuts". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved on 2008-01-01. "Because Delta's main hub, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, is only 240 miles from Charlotte, a US Airways-Delta merger is a particular worry for Charlotte, which has nonstop service to 135 cities -- a high number for a city its size."
  4. ^ "Charlotte/Douglas boosts on-time performance", Charlotte Business Journal (2008-05-07). 
  5. ^ "Fast Facts". Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The City of Charlotte.
  6. ^ "SEC Edgar doc".
  7. ^ "Fastest Growing".
  8. ^ "CLT Airport Advisory Committee May 1st, 2008 Minutes".
  9. ^ "Eastern 212 Accident Report" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board (1975-05-23).
  10. ^ "Accident description". Retrieved on 2006-11-26.

External links

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