Share
Most passengers flying out of Charlotte/Douglas International Airport today are leaving on time, but they're having a predictably tough time finding a place to park.
It's the biggest travel day of the year, and the busiest place in the Charlotte metro region is the airport.
Several of the airport's parking lots are full, but with a little patience, travelers are finding places to park this afternoon.
Roads in the Carolinas are in good shape, but some slowdowns are expected over the next six or seven hours, which are traditionally the busiest on Thanksgiving Eve. Motorists tend to travel in the afternoon and evening hours on the day before Thanksgiving, according to travel experts.
Nice weather is greeting travelers, except in the Midwest, where rain is falling.
Officials at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport report at 1:45 p.m. that four lots are full:
-- Long Term lots 1, 2 and 3, on Little Rock Road.
-- Daily North (the lot on the right side as you enter the airport)
Spaces were still available in these lots:
-- Hourly
-- Daily
-- Long Term Lot 4, on Little Rock Road. This lot was filled earlier in the day but now has some openings.
-- Business Valet
-- Cell Phone
Airport officials rate the parking situation as a "B," on a scale from "A" to "C." The "B" rating means conditions are crowded and motorists should allow extra time to find a parking spot -- but that some spots are available.
The good news, once your car is parked and you are inside the terminal, is that everything else appears to be on schedule. The FAA reports flight delays are 15 minutes or less this morning, and a check of the various airlines shows no problems with delayed flight departures or arrivals.
There are delays up the East Coast, however. The FAA and other sources say delays are averaging about 50 minutes in Boston and almost a half-hour at two New York City-area airports -- LaGuardia and Newark. Some delays also are being reported in Atlanta and Washington.
The Web site Flight Stats reported at 1:50 p.m. that there only a few flight departure delays in Charlotte -- of 30 minutes or less.
Lines are long, however, and departing passengers are urged to arrive at the airport two hours before their flight leaves.
Analysts have predict that about 2 million people will be flying this Thanksgiving holiday -- down about 6 percent from last year.
ROAD TRAVEL
On the roadways, traffic is expected to increase considerably early this afternoon.
Typically, the busiest time on interstate highways on the day before Thanksgiving is between 3 and 9 p.m. That is when motorists who have the most common duration of trip -- two to four hours -- tend to be on the road.
The N.C. Highway Patrol says it will increase patrols during the Thanksgiving weekend and is vowing a no-tolerance policy for motorists who are speeding or driving aggressively.
Transportation departments in both Carolinas, and in Georgia and Tennessee, say they have suspended construction projects for the rest of the Thanksgiving weekend. But motorists will have to contend with a closed Interstate 40 at the North Carolina-Tennessee border -- the result of a rock slide last month.
