Charlotte Airport Mini Guide
What is There to See and Do in Charlotte?
Charlotte is named after the consort of George III of England and because of this it’s often known as the ‘Queen City’. Today it’s a major banking centre, the country’s second most important after
New York, and is home of the Bank of America. In the heart of the Deep South, it’s proud of its heritage and has the Levine Museum to chronicle the part that the city played in the development of southern culture. The city has a musical culture too and the Bojangles Coliseum has seen the likes of Elvis and Jimi Hendrix play there.
How do I get to Charlotte?
Charlotte Douglas Airport, whilst not widely known, is a major domestic and international airport in the Southern United States, flying to 120 cities across the country and 35 cities worldwide. US Airways fly to the city from London Gatwick. The airport isn’t far from the city and a Sprinter shuttle bus connects the two whilst a taxi ride will cost you $25 each way.
What is the Airport Like?
The airport is huge and last year was the seventh busiest in the world in terms of number of flights. The terminal is a little space-age and at night is illuminated a gorgeous blue colour along with the undercover parking. The layout of the airport means that you may have quite a walk, nearly a mile, from the outer gates but travelators assist your journey. The airport is so big, there’s an annual 5k run around its runways.
What do I do When I Land?
Once you’ve disembarked on one of the airport’s sky bridges you’ll be in the walkway to security. In the international terminal, the security checks can take some time and plans are already in place to add another desk to lessen the wait. At baggage reclaim you’ll find a visitor information desk. Don’t confuse this with Airport Information in the ticketing area. At visitor information, a team of volunteers will tell you all about Charlotte and North Carolina. The Airport Information desk is there only for airport related matters.
If getting public transport into the city, follow the signs to the taxi area or the signs to the Sprinter Shuttle. Car hire desks, currently in the arrivals hall, are soon to be relocated to the basement level of one of the two parking decks. Ultimately it is planned that a shuttle will drop passengers off at the car rental centre.
What can I Expect on the day of my Departure?
Charlotte Airport has fabulous facilities, as befits a major airport. There is a mall of shops selling all kinds of goods from clothing to products made in the southern states and from books and toys to jewellery and sunglasses. You couldn’t have a bigger choice of places to eat at the airport with an excellent range of restaurants serving food to suit all tastes and budgets. There’s free Wi-Fi across the airport too and a number of computer terminals for those who’ve travelled without their laptop.
Charlotte Airport is also known as the Charlotte Douglas International Airport (airport code CLT). Serving the city of Charlotte in North Carolina, it is one of the top 30 busiest airports in the world with more than 44 million passengers using it annually. To cater to all of these passengers the airport has five concourses and 95 gates.
Charlotte Airport serves hundreds of domestic flights but the most popular routes are to Chicago, Atlanta and Dallas Forth Worth. Customers coming from those airports can prebook car hire in Charlotte Airport for easy collection upon arrival at the main terminal buildings.
Hire a car in USA to get from Charlotte Airport to wherever you need in North Carolina and beyond.