Charlotte Douglas Intl (Private Terminal)

A Legacy of Private Aviation

The airport was established in 1935, as funding from the Works Progress Administration allowed for the construction of a terminal, hangar, beacon tower, and three runways (it was the largest Works Progress project at the time. The following year, it opened as Charlotte Municipal Airport (operated by the City of Charlotte), with scheduled passenger service scheduled to begin in 1937 through Easter Air Lines. In 1941 the U.S. Army Air Forces took control of the airport, establishing Charlotte Air Base (renamed Morris Field after the attack on Pearl Harbor). Over the course of the war, the military invested over $5 million in improvements (the Third Air Force used it for antisubmarine patrols and training). The airport was returned to the City of Charlotte in 1946. A 70,000-square-foot passenger terminal opened in 1954, at which time the airport was renamed Douglas Municipal Airport in honor of former Charlotte Mayor Ben Elbert Douglas Sr., who had overseen the airport’s original opening. There were two floors to the new building, although passenger operations only took place on the ground floor. There was also a mezzanine restaurant and airline offices that overlooked an open space, which was also flanked by ticketing and baggage claims. Scheduled passenger service began in 1956 with Delta Air Lines, and within a year, the airport was also serviced by Eastern, Piedmont, Capital, and Southern. In early 1962, the first jet flights took place through Eastern Air Lines flying Boeing 720s. The late 1960s saw further renovations, with Eastern opening a unit terminal in 1967 (with eight dedicated gates for the airline, complete with individual departure lounges, snack bars, and separate baggage claims). In 1969 a new enclosed concourse was built parallel to the central pier, which allowed for the demolition of the old pier. This allowed for separate departure lounges, restrooms, and an enlarged baggage claim area. Airline deregulation in 1978 brought about a near-doubling of passengers to the airport, and a new 10,000-foot runway and control tower opened in 1979. That same year Piedmont Airlines chose Charlotte as a hub, and a new 325,000-square-foot passenger terminal opened in 1982, at which point the airport was renamed the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Concourse C was expanded in 1984 and B in 1987, with A being built in 1986 with future growth in sight. Non-stop flights to London started in 1987 through Piedmont (within two years, they would merge with USAir, with operations continuing under the USAir name). The mid-1980s saw the old terminal building and the Eastern unit terminal converted to cargo buildings, whereas the old control tower was removed in the late 1990s. In 1990, a new 80,000-square-foot international and commuter concourse (D) opened, and the next year the central terminal building was further expanded. In 2002, the new Concourse E opened, with 32 gates, whereas the following year, the main ticketing hall was expanded to the east (providing 13 additional ticketing counters and a new security checkpoint) while Concourse D was expanded with the addition of nine gates. In 2005 U.S. Airways was acquired by America West Airlines. However, Charlotte remained its primary hub. The 2013 merger of U.S. Airways and American Airlines made Charlotte American’s second-largest hub. CLT underwent roughly $1.5 billion in construction projects between 2007 and 2015 (called the “CLT 2015” plan), which included a new airport entrance roadway, a regional intermodal cargo facility, and expansion of the east-side terminal lobby, new hourly parking decks with a centralized car rental facility, new checked baggage handling systems, and additional space for concessions and shops. It was finalized in August 2009. “ CLT 2015” was completed on schedule (in 2015), which promptly kicked off the Destination CLT plan, which included a $2.5 billion investment in the future of the airport. As such, a nine-gate expansion of Concourse A was completed in 2018, which caused United, JetBlue, Air Canada, Southwest, Frontier, and Spirit all to move their operations to the new section. Late 2019 saw a new terminal roadway opened, featuring 16 lanes over two levels (arrival traffic on the ground level and departure traffic on the second level - each level with eight lanes, five outer lanes for personal vehicles, and three inner lanes for commercial and airport vehicles). The East Terminal Expansion Project opened in November 2019, which added 51,000 square feet across three levels, comprised primarily of passenger amenity space (with “The Plaza” food court being the main part of the expansion; there’s also a Centurion Lounge). Further plans for Destination CLT include a terminal renovation project for Concourses A, B (which was completed in 2019), C, D, and the Atrium, which include replacing the carpet with terrazzo, upgrading the lighting, remodeling the bathrooms, and including new seats with charging capabilities, at an estimated cost of $90 million.