CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As airports continue to grow in order to handle increased traffic, as well as be ultra secure in a post 9/11 world, observation areas for the public have become harder to find.
In fact, construction on a new taxiway on the north end of Charlotte Douglas International Airport will eventually impact the popular “overlook.”
That area is only a few hundred feet from one of the airport’s runways. It attracts thousands of families and aviation enthusiasts each year.
Many have expressed concern on social media that the airport overlook will close for good due to that construction. But airport officials recently put out a statement assuring people the observation area will not close, but be relocated.
The overlook is known as one of Charlotte’s “best kept secrets.” It’s a popular spot for aviation enthusiasts, families, and even people on a first date.
Jim Koerth is one of those aviation lovers who will take advantage of any chance to visit the airport overlook at Charlotte Douglas. “There’s nothing better than the sound of that thrust being wound up, those engines being wound up,” Koerth said as he got a closer look at the runway through a pair of binoculars. “I just thoroughly enjoy coming here and watching the jets take off and land!”
For many like Koerth, the overlook is like an amusement park without the admission. “Lots of times my wife has to drag me away because I’ll spend hours here,” he said. “I’m just so fascinated by it.”
For years, the overlook has been positioned northwest of the airport’s terminal and not far from runway 18-center. That means public observers get a spectacular view of departing and arriving traffic, taxiing aircraft, as well as the ever-expanding terminal.
“You can’t really see into the cockpit, but you can see more of the aircraft and sometimes I particularly like to look at the landing gear as it’s lifting off,” Koerth said.
Thousands are drawn to the observation area each year due to its unique proximity to the busy airfield. “Parents bring their children out here, sometimes they bring a meal and have a little picnic,” Koerth added.
It’s increasingly rare for the public to get that close to such an active airfield, especially in a post 9/11 world.
“Somebody up there with binoculars and a scanner and headphones is very suspicious, and I understand that.” And, with the airport's seemingly never-ending construction, many have worried on social media that the overlook would be closed for good once construction on a north end taxiway begins. “This is a gift and I hope if and when they move it, they move it to another easily accessible vantage point,” Koerth said.
Recently, Charlotte Douglas put out a statement on its website assuring the public the current overlook won’t be closed until the new one is open to the public. They say it will be in the vicinity of the old one and will still offer the same spectacular views of the airfield and terminal.
The taxiway construction that will ultimately impact the airport overlook is part of the overall effort to add a fourth, parallel runway at Charlotte Douglas. That project is still in the environmental assessment phase, which evaluates the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts of adding another runway.