Charlotte-Douglas International Airport (CLT) is America's 11th busiest passenger airport and in 2010, 5-concourse single terminal CLT received the prestigious Eagle Award for Best Airport. It features over 125 non-stop flights to North America, Europe, and the Caribbean. CLT's amenities include WiFi, dozens of restaurants, shops, currency exchange, special needs services.  CLT AIRPORT TERMINAL MAP

Charlotte-Douglas International Airport atrium

Transit: Charlotte Central Business District is less than 10 miles away by the frequent service Sprinter bus. Shuttle: Carolina Airport Express (704-359-9600) also provides shuttle van service. Car Rentals: Armada, Dollar, Enterprise, Payless and Thrifty are available on premises. Taxis are just outside the baggage claim area.

Charlotte's current Amtrak train station is at 1914 North Tryon Street with daily service provided by these train routes:

Crescent: NYC-Philadelphia-Baltimore-DC-Greensboro-Charlotte-Atlanta-New Orleans
Carolinian/Piedmont: Atlanta-Charlotte-Greensboro-Durham-Raleigh-Richmond-DC

Gateway Station in the central business district at South Graham Street at West Trade Street will replace the current Amtrak station. When it completes in 2014-15, Gateway Station will host Amtrak, commuter rail, light rail, bus rapid transit, Greyhound, street cars and taxis.

Charlotte-Greensboro-Raleigh-Richmond-Washington is a U.S. High Speed Rail Corridor that already provides Amtrak service. The route is being incrementally upgraded between 2013-2022 to achieve 110 mph, cutting Charlotte-Washington trip time from the current 8 hours to ~5 hours.

CATS) currently features LYNX Blue light rail and several Bus Rapid Transit lines that meet at Charlotte Transportation Center, adjacent to the convention center, shops and office buildings. LYNX Blue Line runs several miles south to Sound End shopping district and I-485 Freeway. Charlotte Trolley, a vintage trolley line also runs on LYNX Blue Line tracks to the transportation center, for a liesure tour of old Charlotte.  CATS LIGHT RAIL MAP

Charlotte Transportation Center

Charlotte has plans underway over the next 10 years with CATS light rail and commuter rail expansion in many directions from the Central Business District, including a route to CLT Airport.

Charlotte Freeway System: The metro area is located 45 minutes south of Winston-Salem, NC and 1 hour north of Columbia, SC. Its most prominent intersection between 77 and 85 Interstate Highways are a common source of commute hour congestion. I-485 circles about 90% of Charlotte, with completion coming soon:

  74 - East-West boulevard and freeway combination
  77 – North/South interstate freeway
  85 – Northeast-Southeast freeway loop, to Atlanta
277 -  Loop freeway around Center City
485 – Beltway nearly surrounds Charlotte metro area
521 -  Boulevard and freeway between I-77 & I-85