CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte Mayor Rob Harrington on Monday vetoed a City Council decision to delay a vote on a new 10-year airport lease agreement with American Airlines and other carriers.
The council had voted to push the final vote on the lease until late November. Council members Dimple Ajmera, JD Mazuera Arias, Kimberly Owens, Renee Johnson, Victoria Watlington and Joi Mayo voted for the delay. Ed Driggs, Malcolm Graham, Dante Anderson, LaWana Mayfield and James Mitchell voted no.
Supporters of the delay want better working conditions for contract workers at the airport, though state lawmakers this year barred the city from setting those terms. Harrington told the council he was open to more talk about the timeline but would veto the motion. With the veto, City Council will vote on the agreement in two weeks, the original schedule.
It was one of the first times a Charlotte mayor had issued a veto since Anthony Foxx served from 2009 to 2013. Harrington is the 60th Mayor of Charlotte, appointed by City Council on June 22, 2026, after Mayor Vi Lyles stepped down.
The stakes are large for the airport. Under the deal, the airlines have agreed to a $2.1 billion capital program, which includes an expanded atrium and Concourse C, plus an underground tunnel to move passengers to the new C gates faster. The airport also expects to begin studying an expanded international concourse and a larger Concourse B.
Charlotte Douglas is American Airlines’ second-largest hub by departures. It handled 53.6 million passengers in 2025 and has 124 gates across 5 concourses, with a 4th parallel runway expected in 2027.
