CLT Breaks Passenger Traffic Record
Welcomes 44.9 Million Travelers in 2015
February 10, 2016 - Charlotte Douglas welcomed 44.9 million travelers last year, setting an all-time high passenger record for the sixth consecutive year. It’s a 1 percent jump from 2014, which saw 44.3 million fliers and a 59 percent rise from 10 years ago. (Click here to view the monthly Aviation Activity Reports from 2015.)
“We are elated to see those numbers climb and extremely proud passengers continually choose Charlotte Douglas as their preferred airport,” said CLT’s Interim Aviation Director Brent Cagle. “As passenger traffic grows, CLT and its tenants constantly strive to provide the highest level of customer service in order to keep those travelers coming back.”
Airport officials attribute much of the gain to strong customer demand, continued growth at the hub, as well as growth of the region.
Cargo activity also saw an upswing. It climbed from 132,351 tons in 2014 to 135,085 tons in 2015, a 2 percent increase.
CLT offered nonstop service to 154 destinations, including 31 international locations and averaged 692 daily departures in 2015.
Passengers were able to take advantage of several new nonstop flights offered at CLT last year:
- American Airlines began seasonal nonstop service to Albuquerque, New Mexico; Curacao, Dutch Caribbean and Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.
- American Airlines also started nonstop service to Burlington, Vermont; Springfield-Branson, Missouri and Portland, Maine.
- United Airlines kicked off nonstop service to Denver, Colorado.
- Frontier Airlines introduced nonstop service to Philadelphia.
- Southwest Airlines set into motion nonstop service to Dallas.
- ViaAir debuted nonstop service to Myrtle Beach.
Operations remained steady, only slightly decreasing by 0.2 percent to 543,944 aircraft movements in 2015 due to the airline trend toward using larger, more fuel efficient aircraft. In 2014, the Airport oversaw 545,178 landings and departures.
Airports Council International’s (ACI) 2014 rankings placed Charlotte Douglas eighth nationwide in passenger traffic and sixth nationwide in operations. Preliminary rankings for 2015 will be released this spring.
CLT remains one of the fastest growing airports in the country and has been continually preparing for passenger growth. Last year, the Airport kicked off Destination CLT, a $2.5 billion development plan that includes construction of the elevated roadway, fourth parallel runway, terminal expansions and renovations.
In 2015, the Airport also placed a strong emphasis on creating an overall positive passenger experience. CLT launched the Canine Crew and TLC from CLT in the spring and opened a Mother’s Room in the fall. On top of that, several new concessions debuted, including 1897 Market, Whisky River, PZA, Red Mango, Auntie Anne’s and CNBC Express.
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