AirportSaturday, November 7
Charlotte City Council votes Monday on a 10.5-year airport lease with a $2.1 billion capital program
The Daily Huntersville team
If you fly out of Charlotte Douglas, Monday matters. Charlotte City Council is set to vote on the new lease, and the airport says airline money would pave the way for the Concourse C expansion, a new passenger tunnel and renovations to international arrivals.
The lease comes with big numbers
- $2.1 billion
- capital investment program
- 10.5 years
- length of the lease
- $3 billion
- projected airline rent
- 55%
- city's cut of annual revenue sharing
Sources: WCCB Charlotte, Charlotte Observer
- Vote: Monday, Nov. 9, Charlotte City Council
- Takes effect: Jan. 1, if approved
- Program name: CLT Beyond
- Size: more than four times the previous agreement's program
Not everyone is cheering. At an Oct. 27 town hall, airport workers and the union 32BJ SEIU urged the council to delay, citing low wages and American Airlines' near-total control of the gates. The drafted lease doesn't address workers' rights, and state law bars cities from regulating wages and benefits.
American Airlines controls roughly 90% of flights at CLT
90%roughly the share of all CLT flights run by American
Source: Charlotte Observer
View as table
| Value | |
|---|---|
| roughly the share of all CLT flights run by American | 90% |
Sen. Thom Tillis told a podcast he would "move heaven and Earth to create that airport authority" if local government "challenges or threatens the independence of that airport."
Sources: WCCB Charlotte, Charlotte Observer, WSOC TV