Can Charlotte’s airport arrival deck chaos be limited? A reprieve could be here.
People parking at Charlotte’s airport or looking to pick up passengers at the ever-busy lower level arrivals area can now avoid that busy traffic headache all together.
Charlotte Douglas International Airport unveiled two skybridges to reporters on Monday connecting the hourly parking deck to the terminal and the new mezzanine in the lobby. They also work if you want to avoid traffic lines headed to the upper deck departures area when dropping off passengers.
They are officially scheduled to open early Wednesday. The skybridges sit under a 146,000-square-foot glass canopy, providing passengers weather protection.
Once the walkways are open, people walking between the terminal and the hourly deck and rental car facility must use the skybridges or underground walkways. The airport said crossing the road to and from the hourly deck will be prohibited.
Passengers using airport and hotel shuttle buses, rideshares, and curbside drop-offs and pickups are not impacted by the changes.
The bridges will also help with traffic conditions since there will be fewer vehicles needing to stop for people to cross, said Chief Infrastructure Officer Jack Christine.
“People still stop and pick up and drop off on those five lanes,” Christine said about both levels. “It’s not like the traffic is going to go away. But being able to efficiently move that traffic and not have to worry about the customers crossing is the goal.”
The mezzanine level by the skywalks on each side of the Queen Charlotte statue also has artwork on the flooring inside the terminal: Catawba Ways by Janelle Lane Stanley and Garden Carpet by Susan Brenner.
The walkways are part of a lobby expansion project for the airport. The total cost for the lobby expansion work is $608 million, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
Airport officials were unable to immediately provide the stand-alone cost for the skybridges.
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The new Charlotte airport skybridges, which connect to the new mezzanine level in the lobby, complement the existing underground walkways. They also offering streamlined pathways that bypass busy traffic.
Other CLT airport construction projects
The lobby project is part of the “Destination CLT” initiative — a $2.5 billion to $3.1 billion capital investment program to renovate and expand the facility.
CLT is now in the fifth of sixth phases for the lobby expansion project, which is scheduled for completion in 2025.
Some of those improvements include consolidating five security checkpoints into three larger state-of-the art spaces, more efficient checkpoints, upgrades to ticket counters and baggage claim carousels, and new concession areas.
Other aspects of Destination CLT include adding a fourth parallel runway, concourse expansions and other renovations such as new gate seating with integrated power and USB charging.
The current lobby space will increase by 175,000 square feet for TSA security screenings, ticketing, baggage claims and offices. Another 191,000 square feet will be renovated too.
The entire terminal lobby expansion project is scheduled to be finished by the fall 2025.
A construction worker atop a glass canopy at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The skybridges are under that 146,000-square-foot canopy, providing passengers convenience and weather protection.
About Charlotte’s airport
CLT’s terminal was built in 1982. At that time, it was designed to accommodate 2.8 million passengers.
Fast-forward four decades. In 2022, the airport saw 48 million customers, according to CLT. Last year, Charlotte Douglas reported a record-breaking count of 53.4 million passengers, while aircraft arrivals and departures climbed to 539,066.
Charlotte Douglas is the seventh-busiest airport in the world, according to the Airport Council International’s preliminary rankings for 2022.
Charlotte Douglas International Airport unveiled two skybridges Monday linking the hourly deck and terminal as part of the terminal lobby expansion project.
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