Charlotte airport...

Charlotte Airport: Where the Name Charlotte Douglas Comes From: The full name of Charlotte Airport as it exists today is the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The 'Charlotte' part of it comes from it's location in Charlotte, North Carolina. Originally, upon opening, it was in fact called the Charlotte Municipal Airport. Subsequently, about 30 years after opening, it was renamed to the Douglas Municipal Airport, in honour of Ben Elbert Douglas Senior, who was a former mayor of Charlotte. It was only as recently as 1982 that the airport changed it's name to it's current incarnation of the Charlotte Douglas International Airport, and much of that has to do with its rise as a major hub for American flights.

How Charlotte Airport Became an International Airport: The rise of Charlotte Airport as an International Airport is largely due to the changes in air travel that took place in the late 70's. When government control over commercial aviation was halted via the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, it changed a number of things including ticket prices that were now exposed to market forces. Thus there was a marked increase in passengers to Charlotte Airport which prompted an it's expansion. This expansion included a new runway and control tower, as well as, later, a new 325,000 square foot terminal. Much of this coincided with Piedmont Airlines dedicating Charlotte Airport as a hub for its network of routes. Piedmont Airlines later was to merge into US Air. Since then, Charlotte Airport has never looked back, and till today remains a central hub for US Airways.

Charlotte Airport, NC: It's Fair Share of Mishaps: Life isn't always great at Charlotte Airport, NC. Over the years Charlotte has had it's fair share of troubles, the greatest of which come in the form of crashes. The first was on September 11 th, 1974. Of 82 people on board Eastern Airlines Flight 212, only 13 survived the crash and subsequent fire that ensued. The flight was ruled to have crashed due to a lack of altitude awareness of the pilots. Charlotte Airport, NC survived almost another 20 years before it's next mishap, one July the 2 nd, 1994 when US Air Flight 1016 crashed due to wind shear. 37 people died, partially because the crash site was located in a residential area. The latest, and hopefully last, accident occurred on January the 8 th, 2003. US Airways Express Flight 5481 crashed at the airport, killing all it's 21 passengers. Still, every airport has its fair share of mishaps, and 3 crashes in over 70 years of operation is hardly a bad record.

Charlotte, North Carolina's Gateway to the World through Charlotte Airport: Charlotte Airport has a heavy responsibility to play as being Charlotte, North Carolina's International Airport. As the main hub of travel for passengers in and out of the region, everything must be up to mark and kept to high standards. Over the years, Charlotte Airport has expanded to include services such as hotel access, car rentals, and even a shuttle to other destinations in North Carolina. It also fills in the way of employment requirements of the region.