Queen Charlotte statue returns to North Carolina airport after makeover
The iconic Queen Charlotte statue is back at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, though it won’t be unveiled until 2025.
The statue was returned to the airport after a “makeover” at the Carolina Bronze in Seagrove, North Carolina. It will be locked in a box until construction of the terminal concourse expansion is complete.
The $ 600 million terminal concourse expansion project is the most expensive project on the airport’s “Destination CLT” renovation list.
Destination CLT is a $ 2.5 billion to $ 3.1 billion capital investment program to renovate and expand the airport. The terminal concourse expansion will add an additional 175,000 square feet for security checks, ticketing, baggage claim and TSA offices.
The expansion of the hall will include two overhead pedestrian walkways and two underground walkways connecting the timetable bridge to the terminal.
The expansion of the lobby and other renovations are part of a game to cope with the increase in passenger traffic.
When the terminal opened in 1982, the airport served 2.8 million passengers. In 2018, CLT saw 46 million customers, according to the airport.
But the number of airport passengers plunged deep in early 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic hit North Carolina.
But the travelers slowly returned to the airport. In April, the most recent month of passenger data available, 1.9 million people boarded planes at CLT, according to the airport. That’s a huge increase from April 2020, which saw just under 170,000 people boarding CLT planes.
And the number for April 2021 is just below the total number of passengers departing from the airport for April 2019, which topped 2 million, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit North Carolina.
The airport is also taking steps to build a fourth parallel runway, as part of a $ 672 million project that includes the expansion of halls B and C. Construction of the runway could be completed by 2027, according to a draft document released in April.
In other changes at the airport, the city of Charlotte on Wednesday appointed Haley Gentry as the new director of aviation for the airport. This announcement marks the first time that a woman has held the most senior position at CLT.
