Passenger traffic at CLT is rebounding more quickly than at most other major airports in the United States, as American Airlines focuses much of its business on Charlotte.
Charlotte Douglas International Airport’s October passenger traffic was about 63 percent of where it stood a year ago. Airport revenues generated from parking, concessions, rental car and ground transportation are recovering at similar rates.
“We have a long way to go before we are back to the record-breaking numbers we saw in 2019 and early 2020, but we feel good about where we are at CLT,” said Acting Aviation Director Haley Gentry. “Business is picking up for our partners, but we also are continuing to put measures in place to create a safe and healthy environment for travelers.”
Nationwide, air travel in September (the most recent month for which national data is available) was down about 65 percent compared to the same month last year, according to U.S. Department of Transportation data. That month, air travel at CLT was down about 41 percent compared to September 2019.
Charlotte Douglas is performing at least 10 percentage points closer to the same month last year than all other top 20 airports (by traffic size) except one, according to Airports Council International.
CLT serves as the second largest hub for American Airlines, the largest airline in North America. American operates approximately 90 percent of all flights from CLT, although more than a dozen carriers fly from Charlotte. Since the pandemic started, American Airlines has said it would focus on Charlotte and Dallas during the recovery.
Charlotte charges carriers less per passenger than any other U.S. airport, making it financially appealing to airlines, particularly while the passenger decline has diminished the viability of nonstop flights.
Still, CLTChief Financial Officer Mike Hill is cautiously optimistic for a strong rebound but anticipates the full recovery will be slow. In February, American celebrated reaching 700 daily year-round departures from Charlotte. In October, all carriers combined flew an average of 672 flights a day from CLT.
Prior to the global pandemic, CLT was on pace to exceed last year’s record breaking 50.2 million annual passengers. Before COVID-19 crippled the airline industry, the first two months of 2020 saw CLT outpacing last year’s passenger record.
Hill said Charlotte Douglas anticipates reaching 85 percent of last year’s passenger levels by early 2022. While he is cautiously optimistic of a strong recovery, he acknowledges the situation is fluid and industry experts predict the climb to reach pre-pandemic passenger levels taking until possibly as late as 2024 or 2025.
After a recent spike in COVID-19 cases, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidance urging Americans not to travel for Thanksgiving and some states tightened restrictions. CLT ended the month with overall passenger traffic at just over 55 percent of last November’s number, which was not as high as originally anticipated.
“There also is a lot of uncertainty with the return of the business customers,” said Hill, whose finance team is constantly updating its projections. “We have all become accustomed to using technology to conduct our daily business activities and we do not fully know what impact that will have when it comes to our business customers. So far, our local Fortune 500 companies have been somewhat hesitant to return to the skies. However, given recent news on vaccination development, we remain optimistic that business travelers will begin flying again soon.”
In the meantime, CLT continues to identify and take steps to create a healthy environment for passengers and employees. Protective shields were installed, and touchless processes adopted where possible. Housekeeping crews work around the clock to provide daily and deep cleanings with extra attention to high-touch points and an electrostatically charged mist for often touched and hard-to-reach places. A robust informational campaign constantly reminds passengers to wear a face covering, wash their hands and social distance from people outside their immediate family.