Airport Experience® News - Conference Issue 2026

DIRECTOR’S CHAIR

CLT EVOLUTION With A Massive Capital Program Largely In The Rear View, CLT Prepares For What’s Next

BY CAROL WARD

WARD: Can you share an overview of your passenger traffic and passenger growth prospects? GENTRY: 2024 was a record year for us – 58.1 million passengers. The year was a bit of an anomaly because American really dumped a lot of flights into Charlotte on pretty short notice. It really stretched our facilities and our resources to the max. Our numbers are down some – we’re estimating about 54 million for 2025, and that really has everything to do with American reinvesting in Philly and in Chicago. In terms of our overall trajectory, we’re at about 1% ahead of where we were in 2023, which is actually, I think, a more realistic look at how our growth should be. We’re adding new carriers, including our first Middle Eastern carrier. The hub continues to expand and we’re happy as we can be in terms of our service levels. During all of this up and down growth, our local passenger traffic has been stronger than ever. We are growing. I think the last numbers I saw had us at 34 to 36% [local traffic], depending on the month. We have grown from 25%. I think that’s a product of a post-Covid world. A lot of people moved to Charlotte area when the work-from home madness started. Not to mention that Charlotte is a very pro-business climate. We’ve got a lot of corporations moving here – it’s just a growing city. WARD: Can you give me a birds-eye view of Destination CLT – which projects have been completed and which are still in the works? GENTRY: The biggest outstanding project from destination CLT is the runway project. The terminal expansion – specifically the terminal lobby expansion – was a huge accomplishment for us. It went from looking like a small terminal to looking like

s the seventh-largest airport in the United States and a major hub for American Airlines , Charlotte

Above: Haley Gentry, CEO, Charlotte Douglas International Airport All photos credited to: Charlotte Douglas International Airport

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Douglas International Airport is under almost constant renovation. The past several years have been different, though, as the airport has invested roughly $4 billion in capacity enhancement projects under the Destination CLT program. A runway project is still underway, but CLT executives are already planning new projects for a Phase 2 program. Haley Gentry has served as CEO of CLT since 2021 but has worked at the airport in various positions since 1991. She recently sat down with AXN’s Carol Ward to discuss the latest developments and future plans for the airport.

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AX NEWS MARCH 2026