Charlotte Douglas International Airport formally opened on May 17, 1937, as Charlotte Municipal Airport, built with Works Progress Administration funding that made it, at the time, the largest single WPA project in North Carolina. Eastern Air Lines flew the first aircraft into the new field that opening day, launching twice-daily commercial service almost immediately. The airport briefly fell under U.S. Army Air Force control during World War II, operating as Morris Field before returning to municipal ownership in 1946. In 1954, a new passenger terminal opened and the facility was renamed Douglas Municipal Airport in honor of Mayor Ben Elbert Douglas Sr., the driving force behind the original project.

The airport's modern identity took shape in 1979, when Piedmont Airlines selected Charlotte as its hub following airline deregulation. A new 325,000-square-foot terminal opened in 1982, and the airport was renamed Charlotte Douglas International. Piedmont expanded aggressively: nonstop transcontinental service began in 1984, and London service launched in 1987. After Piedmont was acquired by USAir in 1989 and USAir eventually merged with American Airlines in 2013, Charlotte became American's second-largest hub. The carrier now operates roughly 90% of all flights at the airport.

CLT sits about 6 miles west of Uptown Charlotte, a position that amplifies its role as the primary gateway for the entire Carolinas region. The airport's single terminal with 5 walkable concourses and 124 gates handles traffic without the trains or inter-terminal shuttles required at comparable hubs. In 2024, the airport logged 58.8 million passengers and ranked sixth globally for aircraft operations, with 596,583 takeoffs and landings recorded that year.