CHARLOTTE — Some people have used Charlotte Douglas International Airport as a place to live, sleeping in baggage claim, hiding in restrooms, and even assaulting staff.
Last July, the airport banned people from being inside unless they were there for a business purpose, such as traveling or picking people up.
Since then, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and the airport have issued 41 trespassing notices and have banned people from the airport for up to one year. Some of the people were homeless while others were committing crimes.
On any given night in April 2024, as many as 30 people were living inside the airport. One of them told Channel 9’s Joe Bruno that’s because it is one of the safest places to be.
“We have our own police team here,” the person said last year. “Our own medic team. Our own K-9 dogs. There are people coming and going all day long.”
Bruno stopped by the airport on Tuesday and there were no visible signs of homelessness. Last year, the airport created a premises policy that gave law enforcement the ability to ban and cite people with trespassing if they weren’t in the airport for traveling purposes.
Bruno obtained records that show the airport is enforcing the policy, which indicated there have been 41 reports of trespassing.
The airport has issued bans that last three months, six months, and sometimes 12 months.
Some were banned for sleeping inside while others had more serious offenses, including having weapons.
One of those people who was issued a trespassing notice was found stealing bags from the baggage claim area. He had an active arrest warrant and was carrying a hunting knife on his belt.
A man was banned for a year after a passenger found him using a large knife to scratch himself. When police responded, the man told them he felt like harming himself. He was taken to a hospital.
An intoxicated passenger was banned for six months for following women into the restroom. Officers escorted him out and got him a taxi to the Midnight Diner in Uptown.
However, in most cases, the people cited for trespassing were then sent away on the city sprinter bus to the transit center.
Even with the policy in place, it’s clear the airport remains a desirable place for people to stay, Bruno reported.
He spoke with someone last year living at the airport who said it’s less hectic than the shelter.
“It’s a place to sleep and relax like at the shelter,” they said. “We would be going to bed at 9 p.m. and be up at 5 a.m. and have to be at the bus station in two hours. Here we can sleep in.”
A person who is banned from the airport can still come back but only if they have an official purpose, such as having a ticket to fly, according to records.
VIDEO: Charlotte airport wants police to be able to remove people experiencing homelessness
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