Record crowds at Charlotte Douglas with spring break underway

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Thursday was the first day of spring break for students with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, and many families will be flying out of Charlotte-Douglas International Airport to start their vacations.

Earlier this week, airport officials revealed exactly how many passengers are expected to pass through this season.

On a normal day, the airport typically sees roughly 25,000 passengers pass through security. This week though, they expect more than 34,000 travelers a day and airport officials are encouraging flyers to show up early.

The airport's chief operating officer, Jack Christine, told Channel 9 he is taking extra precautions to prevent a travel nightmare like the one that happened during spring break two years ago. Some passengers missed their flights after waiting hours to get through long security lines.

Eventually, the Transportation Security Administration had to open more checkpoints.

"We're making sure all our partners are working together with us to make sure they're staffed correctly,” he said.

Kevin Frederick, the TSA director at Charlotte Douglas, said he is also trying to prevent another spring break travel fiasco this year.

"We learned from what occurred 2016,” Frederick said, “We’ve had a lot of planning meetings."

The TSA is making sure is has as many people as possible on hand to staff the security lines.

Major carriers like American Airlines are opening their ticket windows at 3:30 a.m. -- an hour earlier than normal.

Since Easter falls during spring break this year, the crowds will be close to record levels, which is why airport executives are asking travelers to do their own part to help keep things moving.

"We encourage our passengers, as always during peak times, to arrive early at the airport so you have plenty of time for getting through all the different processes you have to get through," Christine said.

Travel Info Links:

• Check Airport Parking Space Availability
• Charlotte Douglas International Airport Parking Map
• Flight Tracker

Travelers who are rushing to get home before the crowds takeoff have some tips of their own for anyone flying this weekend.

"I would say good luck and just be patient,” traveler Bob Friday said.

"They probably need more staff because that sounds pretty overwhelming,” said Linda Waterman, who was stuck in a long line the last time she missed a flight at the airport.

This year, Waterman said she isn't flying at all during spring break to avoid any more travel trouble.

"All of my family, my children, they're traveling, but we are not traveling,” she said,

All of the airport parking lots will be open for travelers during spring break but they will fill up fast. Fliers can always check the online parking map which will show in real-time what is available.

The airport hopes to add 600 spaces to the lot as it continues expanding its operations. Construction is expected to begin this fall.

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