Charlotte airport prepares for Fourth of July 2026 travel

Charlotte Douglas International Airport expects roughly 1.6 million travelers for Fourth of July travel.

What to expect: The holiday travel period runs June 26 through July 6. The busiest travel days are expected to be tomorrow, as well as Thursday, July 2, and Sunday, July 5.

• The Transportation Security Administration intends to keep security wait times under 10 minutes for TSA PreCheck and around 20 minutes for standard checkpoints during the busiest times.
• TSA federal security director Greg Hawko told reporters most of the time those wait times will be significantly less.
• You can find checkpoint wait times here.

Zoom out: On July 1, the airport's Express Deck Preferred will change from a valet parking to a self-parking deck. It will still be reservation-only.