9 Investigates: Call boxes not functional in airport parking deck

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Emergency call boxes are common on college campuses and in parking garages across the nation, but the boxes at the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport aren't working in the hourly parking deck.

The $120-million facility opened in 2014 and has 4,000 parking spaces for the public.

Airport officials said that as a cost-saving measure, electrical conduits and phone pedestals were installed for the emergency system.

The call boxes and blue-light systems, created by Code Blue, allow someone to press a button and be connected with security or police right away.

Eyewitness News Reporter Joe Bruno noticed over the past couple months that several of the call box systems were covered with a bag.
 
Other call-box systems were exposed, but there is no way to use them.
 
Airport officials told Channel 9 the technical components have not yet been installed and the system plan calls for the equipment to be put in place within the next two years.
 
Some passengers told Channel 9 not having the extra resource makes them nervous.
 
"With all the things going on in the world these days, to be in an enclosed place where the traffic is growing, we need to have that security," traveler Tiffany Turner said.
 
The airport spent $292,000 to put the boxes in place.
 
The airport is an enterprise fund and generates revenue from the airfield, terminal area, concessions, parking and the cargo area.
 
"If they are going to go through the trouble of putting the kiosks in, they ought to work," one passenger said.
 
In addition, Channel 9 could not find any visible security cameras on the fourth floor of the deck where hourly parking begins. In comparison, security cameras in the west parking deck are clearly visible. There also are working emergency-call boxes in place. 
 
Airport officials would not comment on security measures but said Charlotte-Mecklenburg police actively patrol the area.

Cox Media Group