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Charlotte’s New Airport Overlook Opening In 2024

Author Phil Harris
A Boeing 737-A23 operated by American Airlines takes off on August 24, 2019. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

The Wright Brothers were the first to bring aviation to North Carolina with their historic flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903. The public’s fascination with flying has never really abated. Since the 1930s, Charlotteans have been making their way to the airport just to watch planes take off and land. Soon they’ll have a new place to catch the passing show.

WCNC-TV reports that Charlotte Douglas International Airport is building its fifth airport overlook since 1937. It will be located just to the west of the previous location on Marshall Drive, which closed last October to make room for new airport construction.

In addition to views of the runways and Charlotte skyline, the new overlook will offer paved parking, restrooms, picnic tables, two playgrounds, pet areas, as well as an area for food trucks. According to CLTAirport.com, the new site will also be home to a permanent memorial for USAir Flight 1016, which tragically went down near the airport in 1989. Thirty-seven people lost their lives in the crash.

Construction on the new overlook is scheduled to begin later this year and is expected to be completed by the summer of 2024. In the meantime, plane watchers can visit the temporary overlook at the corner of Old Dowd Road and Airport Overlook Drive.

Phil Harris is 50% of "Phil & Mel in the Afternoon" on K104.7. He has been with the station since 2013 and on the air in Charlotte since 2000. Before coming to the Queen City, Phil worked for radio stations in Pittsburgh, Austin, and Seattle. In addition to the weekly "Throwback Threesome" music video feature, Phil writes about things that matter to Charlotte sports fans and pet owners. He happens to be both.

The Stuff TSA Agents Confiscate At U.S. Airports Is Astounding

It amazes me the things people try to pull at the airport. Even those of us who only fly occasionally have a pretty good idea of what you can and cannot take on plane. But each and every day, the agents of the Transportation Security Administration have their hands full with airline passengers who just don’t seem to get it.

I don’t now if it’s actually ignorance or simply inconsideration on the part of the contraband carriers. Either way, it’s the reason the TSA has taken to Twitter to share some of the oddest things they’ve confiscated from carry-on bags during #ProhibitedItemsWeek.

The list is astounding! It includes:

  • Saw blades
  • Replica grenade
  • Knife hidden inside rose stems
  • Gun inside lipstick
  • Batman brass knuckles
  • Weed whacker

Who’s flying with a weed whacker? You can see more items confiscated by the TSA at U.S. airports below:

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