(c) photo: freedigitalphotos.net

In it’s latest edition, the Charlotte Business Journal named City Aviation Director Jerry Orr Charlotte Business Journal’s Business Person of the year. CBJ chooses the winner by performance in the categories financial performance, personal qualities, managerial skills and contribution to Charlotte’s strengths as a region. Orr has a Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from N.C. State. Before he became the City Aviation Director in 1989 he was Assistant Airport Manager from 1980 to 1989 and airport engineer from 1975 to 1980. From 1962 to 1975 he owned his own business, the T. J. Orr Surveyor in Charlotte.

Named after Ben Elbert Douglas Sr., construction on the first airport in Charlotte began in 1936 and since then had a long history of renovation. The first passenger terminal opened in 1954. The first international direct flights to London were offered in 1988 – this made the Charlotte Airport an international airport. Today, around 643 planes depart from the airport each day and each year approx. 33 million people fly in and out of Charlotte Douglas. Currently, construction is under way again and the airport will get a makeover that Orr has led from planning to execution. The ”CLT 2015 Development Program”, as it is officially called, includes the following areas:

• Widen of airport entrance road (Little Rock Road) 
• Seven-level deck new hourly parking 
• Renovation of the baggage area 
• Expansion of the east-side terminal 

Eight domestic carriers and two foreign ones operate out of Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. The domestic carriers include AirTrain, Continental, United, Delta, American, JetBlue, Northwest, and US Airways. Air Canada Jazz and Lufthansa German Airlines are the two foreign airlines.

The CBJ writes that under Jerry Orr the Charlotte Airport “turned from a teetering mid-sized airport into a major hub, and, as of three months ago, navigated the single busiest day in its history (the Friday after the Democratic National Convention ended) without a hitch.”