Local

Lack of social distancing at Charlotte airport raises concerns

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Some passengers are concerned about the lack of social distancing at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport as COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the state.

Several people posted pictures on Twitter Friday showing hundreds of people crowding in one area waiting to catch to their flights. Many were also not wearing masks.

Charlotte Douglas is a hub, so it gets a lot of traffic, but the passengers said the problem was that in some areas there was not enough space for social distancing.

Mike Maloy and his new bride told Channel 9 that they just returned from their honeymoon in the Florida Keys. He said not even Miami airport was as crowded as Charlotte Douglas.

“Well there wasn’t really space for social distancing just from the sheer amount of people and the amount of space it wasn’t possible,” he said.

Maloy said the lack of social distancing has made him think twice about coming through Charlotte’s airport again.

Some passengers like Dara Albert complained that their fellow passengers took their mask off and kept them off.

“People were not wearing mask," she said. "They had theirs on when they got on the flight but then they removed them.”

We asked airport officials about the crowding issue and they pointed out that there are numerous signs around the building encouraging people to social distance.