Charlotte Douglas International Airport CEO Haley Gentry said yesterday that the airport expects to surpass 60 million passengers this year, the Charlotte Business Journal reported this week. If those projections are met, the airport would break its annual record of 53.4 million set in 2023 by 13%.
Gentry shared estimates of passenger counts as part of an airport update and budget presentation to City Council. Charlotte Douglas, or CLT, already ranks among the world’s 10 busiest airports and is home to American Airlines Group Inc.’s second-largest hub.
“Right now, Charlotte is the fastest-growing airport if you look at available seats on the market in the country,” Gentry said. “And that is really amazing.”
The anticipated increase in passengers will “stress the operation” of the airport, she added.
City government owns the airport and must approve its budget. CLT is one of city government’s enterprise funds, meaning it generates funding from customer fees. Other revenue sources include parking and concession revenue, federal grants and airline fees and leases.
Gentry and Mike Hill, the airport’s chief financial officer, told council they are seeking approval for an operating budget of $302 million for the fiscal year that begins July 1, an increase in spending of 17% over the current year. CLT’s revenue forecast for fiscal 2025 is $487 million, or 25% more than the $391 million anticipated in the current budget year, which ends June 30.
Actual revenue and expenses in fiscal 2023 — the most recent full-year results available — were $325 million and $225 million, respectively.
Net revenue primarily goes to pay for debt service and capital projects as well as airport reserve funds, Hill said.
Gentry cited more travelers and more use of the airport as well as inflation and the end of federal pandemic recovery funds as factors contributing to CLT’s anticipated increase in expenses. Over the past four years, she said, Charlotte Douglas received and shared with partner airlines $370 million, money allocated to airports across the U.S. to help cope with lost travel revenue and Covid-19-related expenses.
Referring to estimates of 60 million passengers this year, Gentry told council, “That’s the punchline of this whole presentation. It really is.” A year ago, the airport’s forecast anticipated reaching 60 million passengers in five years. Translation: They’re way ahead of schedule (words rarely uttered at any airport).
She said that American Airlines has delivered on public proclamations to invest most heavily in the company’s hubs at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and CLT.
“The hub is driving the growth,” she said.
CLT is nearing the end of a 10-year, $3.5 billion series of renovation and expansion projects that will culminate with the completion of a $600 million overhaul of the main terminal next year and the opening of a $1 billion fourth parallel runway in September 2027.
If not for the ongoing construction and incremental opening of additional space, the airport would not be able to handle the rapid increases in passengers, Gentry and Hill said. For the current year, square footage will grow by 20%, including a 10-gate, 192,000-square-foot extension of Concourse A. That project is scheduled to open this fall; construction cost is $231 million.
The end of pandemic recovery money and ongoing construction expenses have combined to drive up cost per enplaned passenger, an industry measure used by airlines to determine their expenses at each airport. Charlotte Douglas remains the cheapest airport for airlines but costs have crept up, increasing to an estimated $3.52 in fiscal 2025, up from $2 in recent years.
CLT is among a handful of major airports with costs per passenger below $10.
In addition to growth from American’s hub traffic — passengers who change planes at CLT on their way to another city — Gentry said Charlotte’s population gains and a strong economy have fueled local traffic, too. In the 1990s and into the early 2000s, local passengers accounted for 20% to 25% of CLT travelers. Now, they make up close to one-third of passengers, including 31% in 2023 and 29% in 2022.
The airport’s expansion entails more than new construction. For the current budget year, Charlotte Douglas added 70 positions, growing to 830 full-time employees. An airport spokesperson confirmed to CBJ today that CLT’s budget request for fiscal 2025 is to add another 70 people for a total of 900 full-time workers.
Those figures do not include the thousands of airline flight and maintenance crews, gate agents and so on. More than 20,000 people work at CLT between the airport, airlines and various vendors and service providers.
