Blame holiday travel for traffic nightmare around CLT airport. Avoid these roads
Passengers experienced a second straight day of nightmare backups driving to Charlotte Douglas International Airport parking lots on Wednesday.
At 5:30 p.m., the airport warned that it could take up to an hour to reach the terminal because traffic remained heavy on airport roads.
“Be sure to allow extra time for your commute to CLT,” airport officials advised on X. “The suggested route is to use the Airport entrance off Billy Graham Parkway.”
The airport issued the same warning several hours earlier.
Traffic was a bear since morning, passengers and news reporters said on social media.
“I can confirm it’s still a mess,” Deneige Broom, WSOC-TV morning anchor, posted on X just before 11 a.m. “Airport traffic is backing up onto Wilkinson Blvd and barely crawling.”
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police urged drivers to use the airport entrance off Billy Graham Parkway.
Avoid Wilkinson Boulevard and Josh Birmingham Parkway getting to the airport, CMPD advised, blaming Thanksgiving travel for the backups.
“Wow. It’s already bad,” Charlotte resident Michael Konen posted on X around 11:30 a.m.
The airport parking crunch started Tuesday afternoon, multiple media outlets reported.
“Airport traffic right now is a disaster,” WSOC-TV reporter Joe Bruno said on X just before 5 p.m. Tuesday. “If you are flying out or picking someone up tonight, leave early.”
Just before 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, the airport said online parking was sold out for the day.
“Currently, drive-up parking is available in CLT’s Long Term Lots, Express Deck Preferred, Hourly Deck and Valet,” the airport said on X.
“Parking availability is constantly changing,” airport officials said.
For the latest status of parking decks and lots, visit the airport’s interactive parking map at http://bit.ly/3VmslAA.
And once you make it into the airport?
At least 300 outgoing and incoming flights were delayed at the airport on Tuesday. Despite rain and hail moving into the region again on Wednesday afternoon, only 130 flights were delayed by 3 p.m., according to Flight Aware.com
A recent study of airports with the worst security lines revealed that holiday wait times have increased 5.8% at TSA security check-ins at Charlotte’s airport.
The wait lasts 4.3 minutes, 18th best in the country, according to the report by Upgrade Points.com.
This story was originally published November 22, 2023 at 3:16 PM.