The FAA wants to help Charlotte airport. Giving millions for an extra runway will work
It’s no secret wait times at Charlotte’s airport can be maddening for many passengers.
But the busy hub is on track to get $290 million toward building a new runway to handle increasing flight traffic thanks to a funding commitment from the Federal Aviation Administration.
FAA leaders issued a letter of intent to fund what’s called the “fourth parallel runway” project with money from its Airport Improvement Program, Charlotte Douglas International Airport announced in a release Tuesday.
The 10,000-foot-long by 150-foot-wide project will run west of runway 18C/36C, which is one of three parallel operating runways the airport has. With a planned opening in 2027, the new runway would allow for 20 additional arrivals and departures during peak hours in 2028 and 32 in 2033, according to CLT projections.
The project’s overall cost is more than $1 billion with other sources of funding coming from bonds and passenger fees. It’s the final project for Charlotte Douglas’ “Destination CLT” — a plan to upgrade the 82-year-old airport through a variety of projects. It’s also the only new runway project currently underway in the U.S., according to the airport.
The runway project was a part of CLT’s 2016 master plan update to address capacity and future demands at one of the world’s busiest airports. Improvements also includes north and south end-around taxiways, which allows aircraft coming on the western runway to bypass the new runway and center runway.
After construction is complete, the runway project is expected to have other benefits such as reductions in aircraft operating times, fuel consumption and emissions.
Charlotte Douglas officials expect the extra runway to cut wait time for passengers. The airport has the highest share of connecting passengers at any airport in the U.S., according to CLT. During the summer passengers made complaints on social media about long lines for ticketing, baggage drops and security checkpoints.
Funding will help the airport make progress on boosting capacity and operational efficiency, said CLT CEO Haley Gentry in the news release.
The FAA and the Biden-Harris Administration assisted Charlotte Douglas with the project for safety and to provide the most stress-free experience for passengers, said Shannetta Griffin, FAA associate administrator.
“The fourth runway project delivers on both goals – not only for travelers in and out of Charlotte, but for those visiting one of the nearly 200 cities with routes from CLT,” Griffin said in the news release.
CLT broke ground on the runway project in June 2023. Construction crews are grading the land by reshaping the site and that work will continue through the middle of 2026.
Concrete paving will start next year and continue through early 2027. Certain roads will have closures and detours because of the construction.
Charlotte Douglas is the seventh busiest airport in the world for arrivals and departures, according to Airports Council International.
It’s also the fourth busiest U.S. domestic megahub for airports, according to OAG, a data platform for the travel industry. CLT set a record of 53.4 million passengers in 2023 — an 11.9% increase from 2022, according to ACI.
