Airport Is On Track For A Record Year of Passenger Growth

RDU Airport, N.C. – About 500,000 travelers are expected to pass through Raleigh-Durham International Airport through the New Year’s holiday, the Airport Authority announced during a holiday press conference in Terminal 2 today.

The airport also announced that more than 10 million passengers had traveled through RDU through the end of November, placing the airport on track for a record year of growth.

“This is just the third time in our history that we have surpassed the 10 million mark and we are on pace for around 11 million travelers this year. Our previous record was in 2000, with 10.4 million,” said Airport Authority President and CEO Michael Landguth.

Holiday Travel

While travel patterns are much more spread out during the year-end holiday season, RDU recommends the following major tips for those flying from RDU over the coming weeks:

• RDU has established a holiday travel resource on its website with travel tips and key information for those flying this season.
• The airport expects to have plenty of close, convenient parking available throughout the holiday season. Travelers can check rdu.com for real-time parking lot status information.
• Travelers are encouraged check the status of their flight before heading to the airport. As winter weather is prevalent this time of year, weather elsewhere in the country may affect the planes used for routes from RDU.
• Those traveling with passengers who are disabled and/or need special assistance going through the TSA Security Checkpoint are advised to call TSA Cares the day before their flight at (855) 787-2227 to make arrangements for extra assistance.
• Please do not wrap gifts before coming to RDU as they may need to be unwrapped during the security screening process

Holiday Events and Activities

RDU will is holding more than 170 hours of live music and events during the holiday season. In additional to live music performances, travelers can expect to see Santa Claus, enjoy beer and wine tastings, see strolling Victorian Carolers and listen to live storytellers.

The airport is also making holiday shopping easy. Travelers are encouraged to arrive early and visit The Shops of RDU. There, special gift tags will highlight outstanding gift items.

About the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority

The Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority and its 300 staff operates and manages Raleigh-Durham International Airport, the primary air travel gateway to central North Carolina. The airport serves more than 10 million passengers each year, 30,000 customers every day and is home to more than 5,000 employees. RDU contributes more than $8.5 billion and 20,000 jobs to the region’s economy each year.  The Airport Authority has won the Triangle Business Journal’s Heathiest Employer of the Triangle for the past three years straight and in 2015 was named by J.D. Power & Associates the third best medium sized airport in the United States.

###