The Charlotte City Council on Monday approved a new 10-year lease with American Airlines and other carriers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
At the urging of dozens of speakers to approve the lease, council members voted 8-2 in favor of the deal.
The agreement calls for CLT to embark on a $2.1 billion capital plan over the next decade. Projects include expanding the main atrium and building new gates at the end of Concourse C. The airport also plans to build a new tunnel from the main terminal to the new C gates, to reduce congestion on the concourse and get passengers to the far-flung gates quickly.
Airlines will pay for the construction through higher fees.
But the lease calls for more of the revenue from things like stores and parking go to the airlines. The old revenue sharing agreement was that 40% of revenues would go to airlines; the new agreement increases that to 45%.
And American Airlines believes the new projects will allow it to expand and add more flights.
The airport has said the new lease will have “updated gate utilization targets to ensure that all airline gates are used to maximum efficiency.” The idea is that if an airline is not using the gate as much as required, CLT can allow other airlines to use it. That’s meant to increase competition.
"Charlotte Douglas is our region's most significant economic engine," said Jessica Helms with the Charlotte Area Chamber of Commerce.
Council member Dante Anderson voted in favor of the deal.
"As a city, we have the responsibility to protect (the airport) and ensure it remains competitive," she said. "That is why I support signing the airport lease agreement."
Council member Ed Driggs praised airport staff for finalizing the lease.
"I believe they deserve more credit," he said.
While past lease agreements haven’t been controversial, this deal was contentious. The Service Employees International Union has been lobbying City Council to improve the working conditions and pay of contract workers who do things like clean planes and push passengers in wheelchairs.
The Republican-controlled General Assembly this summer approved new language in the budget that prohibits cities and towns from dictating the working conditions of private employers. That was a direct response to the SEIU push at Charlotte Douglas.
Council member LaWana Mayfield said she supports airport workers, but said the city is limited by what it can do.
"If we are going to have a real conversation we have to go to Raleigh," she said.
Council members Renee Johnson and JD Mazuera Arias voted no.
The lease approval is a big win for Mayor Rob Harrington, who was appointed by the City Council this summer to replace Vi Lyles. Harrington’s first victory was to get the City Council to back the controversial Interstate 77 toll lanes after council members had rejected the project earlier.
The vote also came after U.S. Senator Thom Tillis said that if the City Council did not approve the lease, he would work to revive legislation to take the airport from city control and have an independent authority run it.
