The number of spring break travelers will be down this year, CLT officials say

Charlotte Douglas International Airport is getting ready for the start of spring break travel on Friday. Airport officials said traffic volume will be down slightly compared to last year’s record-breaking spring break travel period. According to the airport, there will be roughly 2.9 million arriving and departing passengers this year.

That's a decrease of about 4.6%. The number of local passengers — those starting their trips in Charlotte and passing through the security checkpoints — is expected to be down 3%.

Passengers who haven’t been at the airport for a while will notice that rideshare services have moved to the inner lanes of departures, on the upper level, for quicker access. In late March, a new TSA checkpoint opened and increased the number of screening lanes to 21. Chief Operating Officer Jerome Woodard said having the extra checkpoint will be helpful.

“You could think that last year when we had the spring break operation, we really only had 17 lanes, but right in the center of the terminal you had this big construction space and a pretty big logjam from east to west,” Woodard said. “Now, the Checkpoint 2 has opened up. You have free-flowing passengers coming in the door going through that checkpoint, the same thing for Checkpoints 1 and 3.”

Passengers can also expect to see more staff at the airport during the spring break travel period and they can be identified by their yellow vests. For those looking to avoid more crowded days at the airport, peak days are expected to be Friday, April 11; Sunday, April 13; and Sunday, April 27, with over 26,000 flights during this time.

Palmer Magri

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WFAE

Officials also reminded passengers to get their REAL ID by May 7. The new, more secure IDs will be required to fly on domestic flights.