Charlotte Douglas International Airport

Meet Charlotte Douglas International Airport - The US Airport with the

Fastest Growth as of 2007 Charlotte Douglas International Airport has been around since 1935, but was known by other names. It came by its current name only in 1982. One of its claims to fame is the fact that US Airways uses Charlotte Douglas International Airport as one of its main domestic and international air travel hubs. At present, Charlotte Douglas International Airport has some of the highest passenger traffic levels, allowing it to be ranked among the 30 busiest of the world's airports.

Relationship with US Airways

US Airways and Charlotte Douglas International Airport have a special relationship in that much of the contemporary expansion efforts at this Charlotte, North Carolina airport have been motivated by US Airways' own growth. For example, the airport built a new international and commuter concourse spanning a massive 80,000 square feet in 1990 and also expanded its terminal buildings in 1991, to accommodate flights served by US Airways. The current Concourse E was built to be a regional airline concourse (opening in 2002), and Concourses A and D were also refurbished to meet the needs of US Airways.

US Airways intends to maintain Charlotte Douglas International Airport as its main domestic hub, even after the carrier was bought by America West Airlines. US Airways will still be called US Airways though.

Expansion plans of Charlotte Douglas International Airport

Charlotte Douglas International Airport is currently preparing to boost its air service by an additional 33%, through the construction of a third parallel runway. This runway should help airport arrivals to be conducted via three different approaches. It is expected to be finished by January 2010. Bond funds, passenger facility fees, and federal grants should help the airport with funding needed to complete the project.

More Facts about the Airport

Charlotte Douglas International Airport is one of the handful of airports where every one of the active members of the Airbus fleet are used fairly regularly. A300 and A310 are used by FedEx; A319, A320, and A321 are all employed by US Airways (though the A320 is also used by Jetblue); A330 is used by both US Airways and Lufthansa but Lufthansa has sole use of the A340.

Certain wide-body aircraft are also operating at the airport, such as the Antonov An-124 (the second-biggest aircraft in the world), Boeing 747, and Boeing 767. The importance of Charlotte Douglas International Airport is emphasized when one realizes that the airport has a yearly total economic impact of almost $10 billion on the entire Charlotte area. The airport also indirectly or directly provides jobs to more than 100,000 people either within the airport itself or through related services, making the airport a significant employer who allows its employees to earn wages and salaries running to the $5-billion mark. Pretty good numbers in the competitive air transportation services industry, if you think about it.

So if you have never heard of the Charlotte Douglas International Airport before, or are just prepared to visit, you can take note of its fast-paced growth this 2007 as a sign of more important developments to come in the near future.

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