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Charlotte's Jet-Age terminal was opened 40 years ago on May 2, 1982. The new terminal boasted 25 gates equipped with boarding bridges and was more than twice as large as the previous terminal, which opened in 1954.
In today's blog post we will take a look at some amazing images, which were taken around the time of opening! 
The ramp in between concourses B and C, photographed shortly after the opening of the new USD 64 million terminal in May 1982. In 1979, Piedmont Airlines chose Charlotte as the hub for its expanding network. The airline grew from three gates in the old terminal to 12 in the new one.
An aerial of the new terminal taken shortly after opening in May 1982. The new 325,000-square-foot (30,200-m2) passenger terminal was designed by Odell Associates.
Concourse B (left in image) featured 10 gates, which were exclusively used by Eastern Airlines. Concourse C boasted 15 gates, 12 of which were used by Piedmont, two by Delta, and one by United. The walk from the end of the concourse to the other was 1,900 feet or about a walk of six and a half minutes. Concourse C was lengthened in 1985 and B in 1987/88. Concourses A and D were opened in 1986 and 1990 respectively. 
A view of the ticketing lobby shortly after opening. The carpet in the main terminal was bright green and was tweed brown in the concourses. Those colors were chosen to represent the natural beauty of North Carolina and the great outdoors.
Concessions included a Dobbs House restaurant, a bank, a lingerie shop, an ice cream shop, a barber shop, and a video game room. When the new terminal opened, the airport was renamed from Douglas Municipal Airport to Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The airport is named after Benjamin Elbert "Ben" Douglas Sr., who served as mayor of Charlotte from 1935 to 1941. It is the gateway to the city but it doesn't have to be a Taj Mahal 
A busy ramp scene showing Piedmont 727s, 737s, a Fokker F28 Fellowship, and an Eastern DC-9. Eastern also operated the first regularly scheduled airline flight from the new terminal: Flight 615 to Atlanta, which left at 7:15, seven minutes after its scheduled departure time.
Just as flight 615 backed out of the gate, Eastern Flight 212 from Columbia was landing, 10 minutes ahead of schedule, to become the first regularly scheduled flight into the new building.
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The Piedmont check-in area. When the terminal opened, Piedmont added eight flights to the existing 78. Delta added three flights, for a total of nine. Eastern dropped two flights for a total of 55, while United continued with three departures a day.
Another 1982 overview of the new terminal taken just before sunset. In 1981, Charlotte ranked the 31st busiest airport in the United States. In 2019, it ranked 6th busiest in the nation.
Between 1982 and 1989, Piedmont grew from the initial 12 gates and 86 daily flights to 39 gates and 472 daily flights. In 1989, Piedmont was absorbed into USAir, which had acquired the airline two years prior. 
We close with this 1982 nighttime view of Concourse C. This photo was taken by Henry Gasque.
Did you travel through Charlotte's terminal in the early years? Share your CLT memories in the comments below!
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4 Comments
David “Bear” Mann
8/5/2022 10:13:43
All those beautiful old planes painted before the days of “edgy” liveries. I wonder how many of those aircraft still exist?
adam berger
10/5/2022 16:56:04
I flew Piedmont from Lga to FLL through CLT. It was my first time on a Piedmont and a 737 to boot. I switched to a 727 which was right next door. I still have the Magazine and the Emergency card.
Jerry
21/5/2023 16:46:14
I recall that when I was first based out of CLT and flying for US Airways Express about 1998, employee parking was where concourse E is now. It was a short easy walk to the terminal. When they closed that lot to build concourse E employee parking was moved to a remote location and it was now a 15 to 20 minute crowded bus ride to the terminal.
Mark Kaplan
7/7/2023 23:45:06
I've been a commercial aviation buff since childhood, and I'm also a former travel agent. I've long been impressed with Douglas Airport as a clean, modern, state of the art facility. I have to say I still miss Piedmont Airlines, and I applaud it's founders as having had a very good sense of business and hospitality. I also enjoyed connecting in CLT, flying from my native Ohio to both Charleston and Myrtle Beach, SC. Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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Marnix (Max) Groot Founder of AirportHistory.org. Max is an airport development expert and historian. |
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