• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

At Airport, Hurry to Wait: Officials Recommend Arriving 2 Hours Before Departure Time

Posted on: Wednesday, 14 June 2006, 06:00 CDT

By Sarah Rabil, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

Jun. 14--Long lines plagued travelers at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport over the weekend. Now airport and airline officials are advising passengers to arrive at least two hours before their departure time -- earlier than most airports around the country.

At Logan International Airport in Boston, officials say travelers should get to the airport a minimum of one hour in advance, said Phil Orlandella, airport spokesman. Logan averages about 75,000 passengers each day and had almost 10 million passengers originating from the airport last year.

Only 3.3 million airline passengers originated travel from Charlotte's airport in 2005. But officials with US Airways, which has its biggest hub in Charlotte, are urging customers to get to the airport two hours in advance -- not including parking time.

The Raleigh-Durham airport -- which had slightly more passengers originating from its airport than Charlotte/Douglas last year -- urges passengers to arrive 90 minutes before flights or two hours early on holidays.

With earlier arrival times adding to overall travel time, some passengers are skipping flights in favor of a long car drive.

Hill Peebles, of Charlotte, who was at the airport for a business meeting Tuesday, said parking headaches and long lines are now more of a hassle.

"Now I drive to Atlanta. It's just easier to drive."

Last weekend kicked off the summer season at the Charlotte airport. A crush of travelers, Sunday's local thunderstorms and bad weather elsewhere caused delays and missed flights for many Charlotte fliers.

And as busy as Sunday was, even more passengers -- 20,000 -- passed through security checkpoints on Monday, said airport spokeswoman Haley Gentry.

"I think this weekend was a wake-up call because our traffic was so heavy," Gentry said.

At a recent job fair, US Airways hired 300 new customer service employees to help with crowds and long lines at Charlotte/Douglas.

"We certainly wanted to make sure that everything's shored up for the summer," said Phil Gee, spokesman for US Airways.

Another reason for summer airport congestion is the influx of vacationers. Family vacationers, who only fly around the holidays and summer, are often not as airport-savvy and are juggling children and car seats, said Stephen Van Beek of the Airports Council International -- North America.

"When you're dealing with vacation and leisure travelers, they tend to take a little bit longer," he said.

What This Means to Travelers

Charlotte/Douglas International Airport is now advising travelers to get to the terminal two hours before scheduled departure -- earlier than most other airports around the country.

Staff writer Megan Ward contributed.

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

NYSE:LCC,

Source: The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)

More News in this Category