What to expect during spring break 2025 travel at Charlotte's airport
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You can see the city skyline from Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Photo: Ashley Mahoney/Axios
Roughly 2.9 million people are expected to arrive and depart Charlotte Douglas International Airport during spring break travel.
Why it matters: Passenger traffic is expected to be down 4.6% compared a record-breaking 2024 spring break.
By the numbers: Total passenger traffic at CLT is estimated to have declined 7.5% for the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, per airport officials.
- While overall passenger traffic is expected to decrease during spring break, the number of flights is expected to increase to 26,800.
What they're saying: Carriers are operating more regional flights, which means you have more planes with fewer people in the sky, CLT chief operating officer Jerome Woodard told reporters Wednesday.
- He doesn't see this as a trend that's unique to Charlotte but rather the industry as a whole.
What's next: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' spring break is April 14-21. CLT officials expect their busiest days to be April 11, 13 and 27.
Zoom out: If you flew through CLT during spring break last year, you'll notice several changes.
- All three of Charlotte's checkpoints are now open. Checkpoint 2 opened in late March and brings CLT's total screening lanes to 21 instead of the 17 they had last year. It also means they can screen an additional 600 people per hour, which should translate to shorter security wait times. Head to Checkpoint 2 if you have TSA PreCheck.
- The Transportation Security Administration expects to screen more than 592,000 people during spring break travel at CLT.
- Rideshare drop-off and pickup is now the inner lane of the upper-level by departures beneath the skybridges.
- CLT also opened its first Delta lounge and added 10 new gates last year.
The bottom line: Arrive early. If you're parking at the airport, reserve a spot at parkCLT.com or on the airport's app.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that CLT corrected its first-quarter decline in total passenger traffic to 7.5% (from 8.7%).