Orr's long-term vision for the airport is to build a new international concourse on land now occupied by rental car companies. But that project is at least five years from construction, so Orr decided to add the two international gates at the end of Concourse E. Almost all of the airport's international flights use the 13-gate Concourse D.

The airport currently has 93 gates.

Orr said Customs and Immigration has said it's OK with moving some staff to Concourse E for international flights.

If the airport needs more gates after Concourse E is expanded, Orr said, the airport would extend Concourse B. That concourse is also used by US Airways.

US Airways, headquartered in Tempe, Ariz., has in the last year shifted more planes from the west coast to Charlotte, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. It has made deep cuts at a former hub in Las Vegas and has cut flights in Phoenix, its home city.

In March, US Airways has 558 daily departures from Charlotte to 128 nonstop destinations. Phoenix has 267 departures to 80 cities, and Philadelphia has 424 flights to 106 cities.

The airline will start nonstop service to Ottawa this spring, said US Airways spokesperson Michelle Mohr. She said the additional flights the airline is planning could include new cities from Charlotte, but some of the flights would be additional service to cities the airline already serves.

Charlotte/Douglas handled 34.5 million passengers in 2009, down slightly from 34.7 million passengers in 2008. Airlines worldwide reduced flights in response to the recession, and Charlotte's decline in passengers was smaller than those at many airports.