Passenger traffic at Charlotte Douglas International Airport is expected to dip by nearly 5 percent this spring compared to last year’s record numbers, as spring break travel slows down.
For one family, however, the decrease in crowds turned out to be a blessing during their reunion.
Simone Neuwirth described the experience as simple and stress-free. “It was easy to arrive here, and it was easy to find my daughter,” she said. Her daughter, Leni Neuwirth, had left Austria eight months ago to study abroad in Charlotte as a foreign exchange student. The two were reunited Wednesday afternoon, marking the first time they had seen each other in months.
“It’s so unreal,” Simone Neuwirth added, still in disbelief. “I can’t believe it right now, but I’m so happy.”
Typically bustling with passengers rushing to gates or rideshares, Charlotte Douglas Airport was much quieter on Wednesday.
“I was really, really scared that I wouldn’t be able to see them, and that they would walk right past me,” said Leni Neuwirth. “But then I saw them easily.”
