Charlotte’s City Council voted 8-2 on Monday night to approve a new long-term lease with the airlines at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, locking in the carriers for at least a decade and pre-approving a $2.1 billion capital program for the city-owned hub.
The airline use and lease agreement runs 10.5 years, from Jan. 1, 2027, through June 30, 2037, with an option for five more years if the airlines commit to additional investment. The signatory carriers are American Airlines, which runs its second-largest hub at Charlotte, along with Delta, United, Southwest and Frontier. The deal keeps the existing split of yearly revenue sharing at 55% to the city and 45% to the airlines.
Credit terms behind the capital plan
The $2.1 billion program, branded CLT Beyond, covers terminal, airfield and support projects, including an expanded Concourse C and a tunnel linking new gates to the main terminal. It is more than four times the capital program in the 2016 lease. Under the agreement the airlines commit to lease terminal and airfield space and to pay rates and charges that cover the city’s operating and debt costs. City documents also describe stronger credit protections, including higher debt-service coverage requirements and an obligation for the airlines to backstop the airport’s finances in extraordinary circumstances. Those terms matter for bond buyers, since Charlotte has not yet said how much new airport revenue debt it will issue to fund the work.
A contested vote
More than 50 people signed up to speak. Business groups and the regional chamber backed the lease, while contract workers for airline service companies and their unions asked the council to delay the vote over pay and working conditions. State law bars cities from setting wages for private contractors, and Councilmembers J.D. Mazuera Arias and Renee Perkins Johnson cast the two no votes. HERE Charlotte reported on the stakes ahead of the vote for local readers.
For more local business coverage, see HERE Charlotte Business.
Section: More Nashville TN business news
Nashville business profiles
Filed under: Nashville TN Business News
