Charlotte Airport

✅ Trip Verified | This was my first time using the Charlotte Airport, and I hope it will be the last. I was arriving on an American flight that was more than an hour late. When we touched down in Charlotte it seemed like there might just be time for me to make my connecting flight. However, after taxiing a few minutes, we came to a stop near the terminal and then sat there without moving for a solid hour. The pilot apparently couldn't tell us anything beyond "there's a traffic jam", which was not exactly helpful. There were lots of gates open, including the one I watched my connecting flight leave, so I can't really believe there was a valid reason for such a ridiculous delay.

❎ Not Verified | I have flown in and out of CLT several times in the last 18 months and I have had a great experience every time. Although there has been construction going on at the airport for at least the last 18 months, it has not been an issue. There are plenty of signs and helpful employees to direct flyers where to go. I am especially impressed that there are workers and signs in the long term parking lots that direct drivers where to find parking spots. This was especially critical during the busy time before and after Christmas. And I have never waited more than a few minutes for the shuttle bus to pick up in the parking lot or in arrivals. Previously I have flown in and out of Chicago Ohare, ORD, and CLT is so much easier to move through than ORD, which is massive in comparison. I also find that airport staff will treat you well if you treat them well.

❎ Not Verified | This airport is a complete fiasco. I have lived in Charlotte all my life and I am very familiar with the airport, but with all the construction going on at CLT there have been more issues I have encountered, mostly associated with parking, but this was probably was the worst out of all of them. I was flying American Airlines from Charlotte to Pittsburgh to see friends and normally I use Park N' Go but this time I decided I'd park in the Daily Decks since it was closer to the terminal I was only going for 3 days, I always avoid the Long Term lots since those lots are a zoo and they have been that way forever. When I parked the first shuttle was full so I waited almost 20 minutes for another one to come and when it came the driver offered no help to anyone with large suitcases. In the airport the line at check in was ridiculous, the agents were taking their sweet time checking people in, American app was not working so I couldn't check in with it. Check-in took about 25 minutes, security lines were insanely long and I finally ended up going to the E checkpoint even though my flight was at Concourse C since it was the least of all of evils but even then TSA still took almost an hour. TSA Staff were all very rude and were barking orders at people military style, I put my laptop in the plastic bin with my wallet, phone, and shoes like I have countless times before without a problem and the TSA agent barked at me claiming I wasn't following directions and that my laptop had to go in it's own container, I looked on TSA.gov and nowhere does it say that's required, all it says is you have to remove the laptop from your carry on, which I did. Of course since I knew they were just doing their job I didn't argue. I go through the scanner and wait for my bags and I couldn't find my backpack, I ask one of the agents and she flat out ignored me and said I was asking the wrong person. I finally saw them staring at my bag on the screen and I stood there until finally after 15 minutes an agent asked "is this your bag" and I said yes. As it turned out a set of souvenir coins that had formed a clump in my backpack apparently looked weird but when I asked if I could just take it out and show them what it was they yelled at me saying I wasn't allowed to touch the bag and I'd be denied boarding if I did. Nobody was willing to help, they were treating all the passengers like dogs, even children and the elderly, it was just appalling. There's a large amount of restaurants and retail outlets at CLT but once you're at the gate the seating areas are cramped and there is very limited seating. The concourses have hardly changed at all since the late 90s. Some of the gates in Concourse E still use ancient dot matrix printers. After the TSA incident I just barely made my flight by 15 minutes even though I arrived at the airport almost 2 hours prior, gate agent was the only nice person I encountered at the airport, she probably heard of the all the TSA problems from other passengers because when she scanned my ticket she said "don't worry I wouldn't have closed the door on you" she said there were 12 people on the flight still stuck in the TSA lines. Given this is my home airport it is embarrassing to see that they treat customers like this.

✅ Verified Review | I fly through Charlotte for work many times. It’s almost a guarantee that my flight out of this airport will be delayed. Despite the size of this airport, there are very limited restroom facilities, and the restroom stalls have humongous gaps between the doors and walls. WiFi is spotty at best. If you can fly through another airport, do yourself a favor and do it.

❎ Unverified | Charlotte Douglas Airport Arrival experience — pathetic. I travel frequently both domestically and internationally, Charlotte is the worst experience in the last two years! 1) Waited for 1 hour 23 minutes for a single bag to be delivered to Carousel E, but finally it appeared on Carousel D. When asking the baggage staff if such delays were normal, they said, “Oh yeah, It takes an hour to an hour and a half to get luggage on E". This was a domestic flight. Baggage staff stated that management is aware of this disfunction and has done nothing — unbelievable! 2) Traffic pattern/management horrendous — one half hour to go less than a mile from parking to pick-up. 3) The parking shuttle is a “cattle call” and is disorganized and packed.

✅ Verified Review | We were returning from Mexico and going through security was terrible! The employees were rude and yelling. I have never been treated this badly in any other airport. We were traveling with our daughter; she tried to wait for us during the procedure because we had never been in this airport. We did not know our way around. They yelled at her to keep moving even though she was not in anyone's way. She moved to the side to wait for us but they yelled at her and would not allow it. None of the employees were helpful, they were too busy been rude. The whole experience was stressful and degrading!

❎ Unverified | Charlotte is one of the rudest airports I have ever been in. I fly several times per year and have been in multiple airports across the US and internationally. Security and customs bark and yell at people and treat us all like prisoners. I have never seen such rude, smart mouthed employees! People asking simple questions getting yelled at. I flew through this airport twice in one month and both times it was like this. They also confiscated $70 worth of liquor that was purchased duty free in an airport and packaged according to TSA guidelines! When I asked what was wrong, I was yelled at and told not to question. At that point I was almost late for my flight and just had to go. We usually have connecting flights through Atlanta and have brought back the same liquor multiple times. I will do whatever it takes not to ever have my connecting flight in this airport again.

✅ Verified Review | This airport is always like a zoo with far too many people, not enough seating and dirty bathrooms. American Airlines is to blame for getting all these people in the same place at the same time without adequate facilities. This is probably a safety hazard. DFW feels open and easy to navigate and so are many other airports. Avoid CLT!

❎ Unverified | I have arrived at this airport twice in a span of a few months and while I had hoped my experience was a 'one-time thing' or just a bad day, I'm sorry to say that was not the case. I have not flown a lot in my life but when I do I usually have 18+ hour journeys. As a citizen of the United States, it is nice to come back after a few years. Well, after an eight hour flight over the ocean, the first thing you are met with is passport control. I have to say that the TSA, guards and police who work there are some of the most unhappy, unhelpful, and rude people I have ever had the mispleasure of interacting with. There were many lines and unclear, sometimes conflicting instructions. We were met with a man who did nothing but treat everyone like an animal, yelling and being rude to people who were confused. Even after the handful of times I have flown, flying and airports are still daunting and I feel sorry for the people who are first time flyers or tourists who will be met with this the first time they are in the country. In May, when I arrived with my boyfriend from a European country, we were met with hostility. When attempting to go through the line, they asked if we were family, if we were from the same household, which we were. The woman simply barked at us that we were indeed not together or family before we could even say anything. She then told her colleague to not help us because we were trying to get through the line faster. We were separated, he needed to be pulled to another line and I was forced to wait at least an hour on the other side. Needless to say we missed our next flight. I've never been so poorly treated in my life. These people should be ashamed of themselves. I understand they have an important job to do but there is no excuse for being so hateful and so rude to people, most of which are confused or afraid. We were almost in tears by the time the process was over. This airport was a stark contrast to the previous in London which was quick, painless and effective. Charlotte Douglas is anything but. On a brighter note, after we got through security, we talked to a woman to rebook our flight and she was very nice and very helpful. The security process is so long, so uncomfortable and the people are so rude I couldn't possibly recommend this place. I hope I never have to arrive in that airport again. Nothing says welcome to the USA like a bunch of angry people screaming at you and treating you like yesterday's trash.

❎ Unverified | On August 10, 2017, we arrived at Charlotte airport on a flight from Rome, Italy. We had a 2.5-hour layover for a connecting flight to New Orleans. We have made round trips from the US to Italy for 35 years, and we have never had such a long delay in passing through US Immigration. There were at least 500 people in line, and there were only 7 agents checking passports. There were about 20 passport kiosks for do-it-yourself scan of passport, finger prints, etc. After about an hour, we made it to the Kiosk; then about another 45 minutes to the agent who repeated the same procedure himself that we had already done at the kiosk. The process couldn't have been more confusing and when I finally said something to an airport courtesy worker, she said "we make no promises". We barely made our connecting flight. They were closing the door. Many in line were for more than one hour after their connecting flights were due to depart. In short, avoid this airport until changes are made. It is a beautiful facility with worse than poor management and organization in the Passport Control area.