Some Charlotte growth plans call for a train to help transport passengers to a future terminal. Currently, Charlotte has 106 gates and five concourses over 50 acres, according to the airport. By comparison, Atlanta has 192 gates and seven concourses on about 150 acres, according to that airport.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) is significantly bigger than Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) in almost every metric. In terms of land area, Atlanta covers approximately 4,700 acres, while Charlotte is surprisingly larger in footprint at about 5,558 acres. However, when people refer to an airport being "bigger," they usually mean passenger volume and infrastructure. Atlanta is the busiest airport in the world, handling over 100 million passengers annually in 2025/2026, whereas Charlotte handles roughly 50 million. Atlanta has five parallel runways compared to Charlotte’s four. Architecturally, Atlanta’s terminal complex is much more expansive, featuring seven concourses (A-T) connected by the underground "Plane Train," while Charlotte operates primarily through one large central terminal building with five concourses. While Charlotte is a massive "mega-hub" for American Airlines, it still operates at about half the scale of the global "super-hub" that Delta Air Lines has built in Atlanta.