CLT airport lease draft set for City Council unveiling Monday. Here’s what we know
Charlotte Douglas International Airport is nearing a lease agreement that would keep the American Airlines hub intact. The deal would greenlight nearly a dozen renovation projects from the concourses to the airfield, the airport announced in a press release Wednesday.
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The city’s 10-year airport use and lease agreement was set to expire in June before the parties agreed to a temporary extension while they hashed out a long-term plan. American accounts for about 90% of CLT’s flights, but the lease also governs Delta, Frontier, Southwest and United.
The airport will give a public presentation Monday updating the City Council on the latest details to come out of the negotiations. Following the meeting, the agreement will undergo a review period before returning to the council for a future vote. The city hasn’t yet determined how long the public review period will last, according to a spokesperson.
The tentative agreement, which has not been released to the public in full, proposes a program called “CLT Beyond” that would bring several major upgrades to the facility, according to the airport:
The airport did not immediately provide a timeline or total cost estimate for CLT Beyond.
The airport generates nearly $40 billion in annual economic impact and supports approximately 184,400 jobs across North and South Carolina, according to CLT.
In recent years, the Service Employees International Union 32BJ has pushed for improved working conditions for airport contractors such as wheelchair agents and cabin cleaners working for American Airlines, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
The issue came to a head in September when Colleen Coates, a cabin cleaner and active union member, died on the job after telling her coworkers she didn’t feel well. She worked for ABM, a facility management company that does contract work for the airport.
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The airport’s recent announcement did not address union requests.
SEIU leaders don’t have a seat at the negotiation table, but they’ve said improving working conditions would enhance passenger safety and reduce high employee turnover. Two City Council members who attended a vigil for Coates said they were unhappy with the conditions surrounding Coates’ death but cautioned the city has limited power in enforcing stronger workers’ rights in the airport contract.
State legislation remains a major hurdle.
North Carolina law bars local governments from setting wages at private companies, including airlines, according to the city. A provision in this year’s state budget further restricted local officials from imposing mandates on contract labor. Specifically, the law prohibits municipal governments from requiring businesses to set specific wages, benefits or working conditions under contract, and bars them from forcing businesses to join task forces formed to address those issues.
SEIU called the legislation “undemocratic” and warned it could have far-reaching consequences, The Observer previously reported.
Charlotte Douglas ranks seventh worldwide for total aircraft operations, according to preliminary rankings from Airports Council International. The airport logged 574,193 flights last year, with nearly 12 million travelers passing through Transportation Security Administration checkpoints.
CLT serves as the second-largest hub for American Airlines after Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, making American the third-busiest single-airline connecting hub in the U.S.
The airline sees nearly 70,000 daily passengers traveling through CLT. Systemwide, American operates more than 6,000 daily flights to over 350 destinations across 60+ countries, serving more than 200 million customers annually.
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