Local

Travelers experience delays, standstill traffic at Charlotte Douglas

CHARLOTTE — Passengers traveling through Charlotte Douglas International Airport should leave plenty of time for travel this Thanksgiving.

Charlotte Douglas had the most delays in the country on Tuesday between 8 p.m. and midnight, according to FlightAware. There were 90 delays and four cancellations. Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta came in second with 35 delays.

Traffic was still backed up for miles Wednesday evening when Channel 9 rolled through.

Earlier Tuesday afternoon, travelers who were leaving the airport experienced about a 99-minute ground delay due to a low ceiling.

A storm swept across the Southeast, which impacted Thanksgiving Day plans for many Americans.

Cloud cover and overall gloomy conditions didn’t help those who were dropping off or picking up people at the Charlotte airport either.

Traffic looked bleak for much of Tuesday on Josh Birmingham Parkway and Wilkinson Boulevard, with cars sitting bumper-to-bumper. Airport officials posted to X that people should use the Billy Graham Parkway entrance to try to avoid the most congested roads.

AAA Carolinas projects 17,000 people will fly out of Charlotte Douglas daily this week. Wednesday was expected to be the airport’s busiest day.

The TSA recommends passengers be inside the airport at least two hours before departure.


VIDEO: AAA offers best times to travel this holiday season


Almiya White

Almiya White, wsoctv.com

Almiya White is a reporter for WSOC-TV