Charlotte Douglas International Airport does more than transport passengers.
Lately, CLT staff has been busy spearheading the receipt and distribution of 2.35 million face masks for Airport employees and passengers at CLT and other North and South Carolina airports. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) donated the masks, which were delivered in boxes packed on 106 wooden pallets.
In partnership with American Airlines, 252,000 masks, weighing more than 1,600 pounds in 96 boxes were loaded last week onto aircraft bound for Raleigh-Durham, Greenville-Spartanburg, Columbia, Wilmington, Piedmont Triad, Myrtle Beach and Fayetteville.
CLT’s Aviation Department Logistics team spent days sorting and labeling the boxes, while airline staff spent hours processing and loading the boxes onto aircraft headed to their aviation peers throughout the Carolinas.
FEMA sent the country’s 30 largest airports face mask shipments in late May and asked them to coordinate delivery to airports in their region.
The FAA’s shipment of 2.1 million cloth face masks are intended for CLT passengers and employees. Distribution to Airport workers has started. A plan is in the works to make them available to passengers later this week.
“We were more than happy to head up this project,” said CLT Operations Director Lexie Farmer. “As an aviation family, we’re all in this together and are willing to assist anyway we can.”
According to the CDC, wearing a face mask helps reduce the spread of COVID-19 for the wearer and those around them. The Airport’s Aviation Department requires its employees to wear face masks while at work. Many CLT airlines and tenants do as well.
Passengers are strongly encouraged to wear a face mask at the Airport.
“Working with the FAA and FEMA to distribute these masks is one way we can help ensure our employees and customers have the resources to follow CDC guidelines to safely traverse the Airport,” Farmer said.
Providing face masks to passengers who do not have one also helps customers have confidence in the Airport when they are ready to fly again. To learn more about how the Airport is working to keep customers safe and healthy, visit the COVID-19 Travel Advisory.
To learn more about the importance of face coverings, visit the CDC website.