One Year Later – Passenger Numbers Steadily Rise

One year after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, there is light at the end of the runway. Passengers and flights are returning to Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

April 2020 was CLT’s most impacted month during the pandemic. Passenger counts dropped to 340,265, almost 92 percent below the prior year. Since April, passenger counts have steadily climbed, reaching 2,119,966 in February 2021, a 523 percent increase in ten months.

CLT continues to see a strong recovery. March passenger totals are expected to be similar to or exceed the prior year during the same time period. The Airport has had several days of welcoming 18,000 to 19,500 local passengers this month. Although lower than usual, they are among the highest number of daily local passengers since mid-March 2020. It’s important to note the Airport hosts tens of thousands of daily connecting flyers as well.

Passenger numbers are expected to grow 2.8 billion worldwide this year, a billion more travelers than in 2020, but still 1.7 billion travelers short of 2019 performance, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Today, Charlotte Douglas is at nearly 60 percent of its 2019 passenger numbers and climbing each month. “COVID-19 has been more challenging than anything we’ve dealt with in my 25-year career in aviation due to the duration and different levels of impacts it has had on everyone,” said CLT’s Chief Operating Officer Jack Christine. “It’s definitely demonstrated the Airport’s adaptability and resiliency to withstand tough times.”  

CLT remains one of the busiest airports in the country. As American Airlines’ second largest hub behind Dallas-Fort Worth, American touted 679 daily departures at CLT in April 2019, which is not too far off from the 643 daily departures scheduled for this April. “We are fortunate to have the strength of the hub, which drives our traffic numbers,” said Acting Aviation Director Haley Gentry. “American Airlines made it very clear that they were going to focus on their networks in Dallas and Charlotte. CLT has benefitted from that.”

Looking ahead to summer travel, American is estimating it will operate 50 percent more flights from CLT to the Caribbean and Latin America compared to 2019.

Concessions Reopen for Business

With passenger and flight numbers rising, 90 percent of CLT’s more than 100 retail stores and restaurants that temporarily closed during the onset of  the pandemic have reopened with new business practices. Several concessions now offer contactless ordering and payment options. All have physical distancing and personal hygiene requirements, personal protective equipment and staff guidelines for providing services while limiting close interactions. In April 2020, concession revenues fell over 90 percent below the prior year, but from that time until February 2021 the month-over-month increase has averaged 28 percent.

Construction Continues to Meet Returning Passenger Demand

The Airport plans to be ready when passenger numbers return to and exceed pre-COVID-19 levels. Concourse E Phase 9 Expansion is on target to wrap up at the end of the year. Framing work is underway, while plumbing and electrical installation is occurring underground. The 34,000-square-foot addition will provide additional gate space, concessions, restrooms, a pet relief area, airline offices and training rooms.

The $600 million Terminal Lobby Expansion (TLE) is underway to transform the Airport’s entrance with 366,000 square feet of new and renovated space. It is the largest construction project in the Airport’s history. Steel erection for the TLE began this month. Construction continues on the foundations, utilities and stair towers. Completion remains on schedule for 2025. “The Terminal Lobby Expansion has been a long time coming,” said Christine. “The push for that project is really about managing the lobby and the thousands of people who use it. That’s not going away long term as our passenger numbers steadily rise.” 

Enhanced Cleaning Gives Passengers the Confidence to Fly Again

Enhanced cleaning and added sanitation protocols have been pivotal safety measures the Airport has taken to give passengers the confidence to fly again.

Bipolar ionization has been integrated into CLT’s HVAC system. The technology releases ions into the air that latch onto and disable viruses, allergens, bacteria and airborne mold to provide continuous disinfection.

Completion of UV-C light installation on escalator and moving sidewalk handrails is scheduled for the end of this month. The UV-C lights eliminate harmful bacteria on handrail surfaces as it passes through the mechanical modules as it rotates, delivering nonstop sanitization. Passengers will not see the equipment because it’s underneath the people movers, but they can have confidence that the UV-C lights are working.

The Airport also has installed more than 1,200 MERV-13 filters, which trap 98 percent of airborne particles, including mold, pet dander, bacteria and particles that carry viruses, such as COVID-19. MERV-13 filters work up to 30 times more effectively and lasts three times longer than ordinary fiberglass filters.

Passengers are greeted in the terminal as well with sixty hand sanitizing stations, plexiglass barriers and more than 300 graphics (mirror decals, free standing signs and floor decals) reminding everyone to wear a face mask, wash their hands and social distance.

Housekeeping crews provide daily and deep cleanings with extra attention given to high-touch points, and an electrostatically charged mist is used for commonly touched surfaces. The cleaning budget at CLT has increased $300,000 per month since last year.   

These efforts paid off with recognition from one of the world’s premier crisis response organizations. In December, CLT earned the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) Star™ Facility Accreditation. Charlotte Douglas was the first airport in the North Carolina and one of more than 30 in the country to earn GBAC accreditation for its cleaning and infectious disease protocols.

“The need to continue to invest in our health and safety systems is absolutely paramount and that will not change moving forward,” said Chief Financial Officer Mike Hill. “Our customers and our employees should expect moving forward a very heightened sense of awareness from the Airport and the need to continue to invest in a healthy and safe environment for all of our employees and passengers.”

Thousands of Airport Workers Receive COVID-19 Vaccination

The Airport reinforced its commitment to providing a safe facility for its passengers and employees by partnering with Atrium Health, American Airlines and the City of Charlotte in mid-March to hold a COVID-19 vaccination clinic at CLT for nearly 5,000 Airport workers and local residents. Since the pandemic began, hundreds of Airport workers have remained on the job to serve passengers’ travel needs. Airlines at CLT have been critical partners in the nation’s transportation network, shuttling emergency supplies, masks and, even vaccines, around the country. Charlotte Douglas remained operational throughout.

Passenger Forecasts – What the Future Holds  

The recent rollout of COVID-19 vaccines has Airport officials optimistic about what the future holds for CLT. “We are projecting full recovery back to 2019 levels probably sometime around 2024,” Hill said. “For fiscal year 2022 (July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022) we’re currently projecting we will be around 85 percent of 2019 levels.”  

Renowned aviation organizations predict a similar timeline. Passenger volumes are not expected to return to 2019 levels until 2024 at the earliest, with domestic markets recovering faster than international services, according to IATA.

The Airports Council International’s World Airport Traffic Forecast reports markets with significant domestic traffic are not expected to recover to pre-COVID-19 levels before 2023, and markets with a significant share of international traffic will recover much more slowly.

There still remains many unknowns. How quickly will local air traffic rebound? Will business travel be as strong with electronic communications flourishing?

But aviation officials say there’s tons of pent up demand right now. “A lot of people changed their vacation plans and sidelined travel over the past year and half,” Gentry said. “I think once we get to a post- COVID environment there is going to be a boom on travel. People will to want to fly, and we’ll be here to gladly welcome them back.”