Charlotte Douglas International Airport contributed $32 billion to the state’s economy in 2021, according to a North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Division of Aviation report released this week. That’s a jump from $24.6 billion in 2019, and amounts to 5% of the gross state product.
The report on the annual economic impact also revealed the airport created $1.82 billion in tax revenue, supported 151,575 jobs, and generated $9.9 billion in personal income.
“These numbers are a reflection of our thriving region and the millions of passengers who choose to fly out of CLT every year,” CLT’s CEO Haley Gentry said. “The airport values its role as a top economic driver in North Carolina and plans to continue making future investments which positively impact the quality of life for our customers and employees.”
The report, “North Carolina: The State of Aviation,” contains data compiled and analyzed for NCDOT by North Carolina State University’s Institute for Transportation Research and Education. Impacts are calculated based on factors such as jobs supported by the airports and the businesses that rely on them, business and leisure travelers, and airport capital projects and operations. NCDOT creates the report every two years to help guide future investment in aviation infrastructure and provide a tool for recruiting aviation and aerospace industry companies and investment.
Overall, North Carolina’s 10 commercial service and 62 general aviation airports produced more than $72 billion in economic output, approximately 330,000 jobs, $23 billion in personal income and $3.7 billion in tax revenue to the state’s economy.
CLT alone comprised 44% of the state’s economic output, 49% of tax revenue, 46% of airport jobs, and 43% of personal income related to North Carolina’s 72 airports.
“We have bounced back from the COVID-19 pandemic quicker than many airports nationwide thanks to the strength of the hub,” Gentry said. “Air service levels and, subsequently, passenger numbers continue to rise. The benefits of strong air service positively impact our entire community through job creation, attracting new companies to the region and providing more than 180 nonstop destinations for business and leisure travel.”
Charlotte Douglas also ranked No. 6 in the nation for on-time flights, according to a report from aviation data and analytics company Cirium.
Cirium found that nearly 80.7% of the 457,871 flights at CLT departed as scheduled in 2022. That earned Charlotte Douglas an on-time ranking of No. 6 among U.S. airports. It landed at No. 10 among airports worldwide.
For American Airlines Group Inc., the dominant carrier at CLT, just shy of 78.3% of its 1,076,100 flights arrived on time. It placed No.4 among North American airlines and No. 10 among global carriers.
American operates about 90% of flights at the Charlotte airport, which is home to its second-largest hub.
