Nearly 23% Increase in Traffic Expected

 

RDU anticipates a spike in passenger traffic from May 12 – May 15 as families descend on the Triangle to celebrate Mother’s Day and college graduations. RDU expects more than 177,000 passengers to fly through the airport from Friday – Monday, an increase of 22.7% over the same weekend last year. 

“Mother’s Day and graduation weekend will rival the boost in passenger traffic we experienced during spring break,” said Michael Landguth, president and CEO of the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority. “We look forward to welcoming the families who will be celebrating special occasions during one of our busiest weekends of the year.” 

Passenger traffic is expected to be heaviest on Friday, followed by Sunday. Although the summer months are the busiest season of the year at RDU, the combined traffic from Mother’s Day and graduations typically make it one of the single busiest weekends at the airport.  

A few simple tips can help you and your guests have a smooth travel experience: 

• Passengers are encouraged to arrive two hours early for domestic flights when departing from RDU.  
• The cell phone lot located at 1000 Trade Dr. on the RDU campus is just minutes from the terminals and is a convenient place to wait when picking up passengers. 
• If you are going inside to pick up guests, check parking capacity at rdu.com before you leave for the airport. 

Both levels of Terminal 2 can be used for pickup and drop off to reduce congestion on the curbs.