Charlotte-Douglas airport security bottleneck tightens, checkpoint closed to install screeners

Security upgrades mean delays at Charlotte airport

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Airline travelers in the Carolinas should expect longer waits as security is upgraded at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport.

Multiple media outlets report that officials plan to close a security checkpoint Monday through the end of April to install full-body scanners.

Charlotte is one of a new wave of airports getting the equipment as the country beefs up effort to find hidden explosives after an attempted Christmas Day bombing.

There are now 44 full-image body scanners at 21 U.S. airports. Charlotte is getting some of the 150 additional machines bought with money from the federal stimulus package.

Some fliers complain that the body-imaging technology is intrusive because the scanners reveal more bodily detail than passengers might want.