Prepare for departure. The newly-constructed Concourse A at Charlotte Douglas International Airport will open to travelers on Tuesday, Sept. 17.

The $241 million, 200,000-sqft-expansion of the concourse brings an additional 10 new gates to the airport, now totaling 124. The gates will be used primarily by Delta, Frontier + one additional gate for any airline.

"We are a very high-volume airport here," said Jack Christine, Chief Infrastructure Officer for Charlotte Douglas International Airport. "The number of turns on each one of our gates typically is eight to nine, sometimes 10 turns a day. That's about double what most airports would have."

Pro tip: It's about a 10-minute walk from the terminal lobby to Concourse A.

Walking through Concourse A, travelers will see gold medallions on the ground, paying homage to the first flights of the Wright Brothers. | Photo by CLTtoday

✈️ First in Flight

Travelers will be instantly greeted by nods to the famed Wright Brothers while walking to their gates. While using the moving walkways, people will hear sounds from the Wright Flyer.

On the ground, four gold terrazzo lines illustrate the distances of the Wrights’ first powered flights, each marked by a bronze plaque.

"The length of this connector, back to Concourse A Phase One, is 852 ft. That's the exact distance the Wright brothers flew on their fourth flight on December 17th," Christine told reporters. "We didn't design it that way. Sometimes divine intervention helps."

Nearing Gate 31 is a refurbished tail of the McDonnell Douglas MD80 — an airplane once used by American Airlines — which has been salvaged and reimagined to be a centerpiece for CLT's newest gates.

"We're very excited to have that as an interesting piece of aviation history," added Christine.

Fun fact: MotoArt, the company behind the refurbished tail and 777 desk in the terminal lobby, will be adding new desks in baggage claim as early as next month.

🍔 Traveling hungry

The concourse features four dining options:

Dunkin’ — CLT's third location serving donuts and coffee
Crown Diner — offers all-day breakfast, burgers, sandwiches, salads and cocktails
Great Wagon Road Distilling Co — serving spirits from the Queen City’s oldest distillery
Market Place — boasts a variety of snacks, beverages, and other travel essentials

The concourse will also debut Delta Airlines' 15,000-sqft Sky Club by the end of the year.

Travelers will find ample seating in Concourse A + the windows automatically tint to lower the temperature and reduce glare. | Photo by CLTtoday

🏗️ Upward momentum

The new concourse brings the terminal, including the lobby, to 2.2 million sqft. It's part of Destination CLT — the airport's $4 billion capital investment project. Recent finished projects include the new airport overlook, two skybridges connecting the parking deck with the terminal lobby + ongoing construction on the fourth parallel runway, scheduled to be completed in 2027.

During the third phase of the Concourse A expansion, six to eight more gates will be added during a four-year timeline. Additionally, Concourse B and C will be getting more gates in 10 to 12 years.

"It takes a little while to design and build these kinds of projects, but we're already thinking about what's coming next," added Christine.

The $608 million terminal lobby expansion project is expected to be completed in fall 2025.