After nearly two decades of planning and six years of construction, Charlotte Douglas International Airport has officially opened its new Terminal Lobby Expansion (TLE) — the largest construction project in CLT history.

“It takes hundreds of companies and thousands of people involved in planning, design, construction and management of an effort this monumental,” Charlotte Douglas CEO Haley Gentry said in a press release. “And that doesn’t even include the millions of passengers who experienced this arduous process with us. Thank you, Charlotte.”

The $608 million expansion adds 175,000 square feet of new space and modernizes another 191,000 square feet, easing crowding in one of the world’s busiest airports.

The project is part of Destination CLT, the airport’s $4 billion capital program

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