Weather And Holiday Travel Make Heavy Airport Impacts

CHARLOTTE – The holiday travel season is officially underway around the world. It began December 14th and is going until January 3rd, according to Charlotte Douglas International Airport officials.

“During that period, approximately 1.6 million local and connecting passengers are expected to depart from the airport,” says Charlotte Douglas C.O.O Jerome Woodard, “which represents an increase of 9% above 2019 and 13% above the same period last year.”

Flight delays are possible due to weather. According to Flight Aware, Sunday’s storms delayed over 6,000 flights and cancelled 136 within, into, or out of the United States. Monday’s numbers even worse at last check, flight aware showed over 560 cancellations. For reference,  there were a total of 119 cancellations for Friday and Saturday combined.

of course, there are other factors that could mean a delay. Beth Walker with TSA says that the holiday period goes between December 21st and December 27th, Charlotte is expecting to screen 221,ooo passengers. That’s a 14% increase from 2022 for that same seven day period.

If you’re traveling, there are things you can do to prevent delays on your end. Arrive as early as possible, know what’s in your luggage before you go, and use TSA recourse tools to know what you can or can’t pack. Also, travel with gifts unwrapped,  with solid food in your carry on and liquids in a checked bags.