Charlotte Airport Expects 1.9 Million Passengers During Thanksgiving Period

Charlotte Douglas International Airport will process 1.9 million passengers between Nov. 20 and Dec. 2. That's a 10 percent decline from 2.09 million travelers who moved through the airport last year.

Security checkpoints will screen 430,000 passengers. This marks a 2.5% dip compared with 440,750 screened during the same stretch last year, and more than 9,000 flights will depart across the 13-day window.

Sunday, Nov. 30 will be packed. Officials anticipate 178,000 passengers moving through the airport that day, while Saturday, Nov. 29 and Monday, Dec. 1 should each see over 83,000 departures.

These numbers follow a 43-day federal shutdown that wrapped up Nov. 12. Thousands of delays plagued airports, and hundreds of flights got scratched when air traffic controllers — unpaid at the time — couldn't staff their posts.

"The recent federal shutdown certainly presented considerable challenges across the national aviation system and at this airport," said Ted Kaplan, chief business and innovation officer at CLT, at a news conference Wednesday, according to the Charlotte Observer.

Charlotte Douglas logged more than 5,000 delays in October, plus over 80 scrubbed flights. Between Nov. 1 and Nov. 13, the airport racked up 3,065 delays and 547 cancellations, per a Charlotte Observer review of FlightAware data.

Federal authorities forced 40 airports — CLT among them — to cut flights when controller shortages worsened this month. Oct. 28 brought a grim milestone: air traffic controllers opened paychecks displaying zero dollars because of the shutdown.

Kaplan doesn't foresee major disruptions during the holiday rush from lingering shutdown effects. "Our focus this season is on giving every traveler a safe and smooth trip," Kaplan said.

American Airlines plans to run 8,000 flights during Thanksgiving week, according to Pascual Alvarez, managing director of customer care. The airline operates 90% of all flights at Charlotte Douglas.

This Thanksgiving season debuts upgrades from a $608 million terminal lobby expansion. The makeover brought extra space, more security lanes, a glass canopy shielding the curb, and a 16-lane entrance designed to reduce congestion.

Airport staff urge passengers to arrive two hours ahead for domestic flights and three hours before international trips. Thanksgiving Day meals will be served at Brookwood Farms in the Atrium and PZA in Concourse E.