CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Holiday travel is underway and the Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) expects high passenger traffic through early January.
"Plan ahead," airport officials urge.
The Charlotte airport expects large crowds through Monday, Jan. 2, with the only "slow days" projected to be Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve.
Airport staff says they will welcome around 71,000 passengers on peak days this holiday season. A normal day at the airport typically sees around 66,000 passengers.
Extra staffing will be on deck in departures/ticketing and on curbside.
Airport staff recommends the following to passengers:
- Prepare for long lines at ticket counters and security checkpoints. Estimated TSA security wait times can be viewed here
- Arrive at least two hours before a domestic flight and three hours before an international flight
- Sign up for TSA PreCheck® at tsa.gov/precheck
- Visit the Airport app or parkCLT.com to book parking online for the best rates. Same-day booking is limited for all products and must be made a minimum of three hours in advance
- Get dropped off at CLT or find alternative transportation to the terminal
CLT has more than 21,000 public parking spaces and airport staff says parking will be in high demand from Dec. 18 through Jan. 2. Only credit cards are accepted for airport parking and cash is only accepted at CLT's Pay&Go stations in the hourly deck.