Thousands of travelers expected at Charlotte airport after holiday weekend

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Officials are expecting thousands of travelers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport on Monday following the holiday weekend.

Experts said that while the Sunday after Thanksgiving is the biggest travel day of the year, about 29,000 travelers are expected to fly out on Monday, with an additional 100,000 people catching connecting flights.

The weather has cooperated for those returning home, and Charlotte airport officials said they were prepared for the crowds.

Channel 9 cameras were at the airport Sunday as lines of people waited to get through security.

Several flights throughout the day were delayed, but none were canceled.

Officials said about 100,000 people connect through Charlotte's airport daily.

But an extra 31,000 were expected to depart Sunday.

Officials said it's important to remember to arrive early to the airport, two hours early if flying domestic and three hours if traveling internationally.

It wasn't just busy inside the airport on Sunday, the main road to the airport was congested and security officers were directing traffic to make sure things ran smoothly.

“We was in traffic for 20 minutes just to come into the lane to come to the terminal,” traveler Donald Limpkin said. “But they're directing traffic pretty good out there."

A flight that took off from Charlotte Sunday morning was turned around after takeoff after complaints of an odor.

The plane was checked out and put back into service after no issues were found. The passengers who were heading to Kansas City were booked on other flights.

People heading to the airport this week can easily check their flight's status using Channel 9's Flight Tracker tool.

Cox Media Group