Connecting at Charlotte airport: short layovers and walking between concourses

Charlotte is a connecting airport: in 2025, 65% of its passengers were connecting. It has one terminal with lettered concourses, and every concourse is reachable inside security, on foot. There's no train. On a domestic connection, the time you need comes down to your first flight arriving on time and the walk between your two gates.

How much time does the airport say you need?

Charlotte's airport doesn't publish a minimum connection time. On one ticket, your airline sold you a connection that meets its minimum and must rebook you if you miss it. Read is a 1-hour layover enough?

The airport's interactive map shows estimated walking times between two points, so you can check the walk between your arrival and departure gates before you land.

Getting between concourses

• All on foot, inside security. All concourses and gates are accessible from any checkpoint, so you don't go through security again on a domestic connection.
• No train, no carts. The airport says it doesn't run motorized passenger carts, because of the size of its concourses and the volume of foot traffic. Moving walkways, elevators and escalators run through each concourse and the central atrium.
• Need help walking? Ask your airline for wheelchair assistance in advance.

Arriving from another country

International arrivals clear US immigration and customs at the airport's international arrivals facility. As at other US airports, expect to collect your checked bags, clear customs, recheck them and go through security again before your next flight. Read international to domestic connections.

In a 2025 test of faster processing, the airport reported average customs waits falling from 16 to about 9 minutes for US citizens and from 22 to about 14 minutes for other travelers. At peak times up to ten international flights can arrive together, so waits vary.

What changed in 2025 and 2026

• Security checkpoints: in March 2025 the airport replaced five lettered checkpoints with three numbered ones. All concourses are still reachable from any of them.
• Concourse renovations: Concourse D is scheduled for completion in 2026 and Concourse E in 2027. Expect some gate changes along the way.

Customs wait times

From October 2025 to September 2026, passengers arriving from abroad at CLT waited 11 minutes on average to clear passport control, according to CBP: 9 minutes for US citizens and 20 minutes for visitors. 0.8% waited more than an hour. The slowest arrival hour was 12 p.m.–1 p.m., averaging 22 minutes. These times don't include collecting bags or walking to your next gate. See US customs wait times by airport.

On-time record

From September 2025 to August 2026, 79.6% of scheduled arrivals at Charlotte (CLT) reached the gate on time, rank 5 of the 30 busiest US airports. 73.6% of departures left on time and 2.1% of departures were canceled. The largest share of delay minutes came from late-arriving aircraft. See the full US airport on-time ranking.

Follow the first flight

Add both flights to FlyingOver before you travel. You'll follow the first flight offline and see its estimated arrival, and with Premium, connection guidance shows whether your layover looks comfortable, whether you need to keep moving or whether you should go directly to the gate.