RDU Passenger Traffic Grows By Eight Percent in January

Allegiant, Spirit Prepare to Move to Terminal 1

Nearly half a million passengers boarded flights at RDU in January, representing an eight percent hike over the same month in 2019. The increase follows a year of record-setting growth in which 14.2 million people traveled through the airport.

Spirit Airlines announced it will double the number of daily nonstop flights from RDU to Orlando beginning in April and American and Delta continue to compete for a share of the highly competitive Raleigh-Durham market. The two carriers accounted for a combined 57% of airport traffic for the month, compared to 54% a year ago.

“RDU continues to grow briskly along with the Research Triangle region and there is no slowdown in sight,” said Michael Landguth, president and CEO of the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority. “Our customers will benefit from competition in the market as airlines expand their offerings and compete to serve business and leisure travelers.”

Allegiant, Spirit to Move to Terminal 1: RDU is on track to open two additional gates in Terminal 1 to accommodate Spirit and Allegiant, who are relocating from Terminal 2. Both airlines are expected to begin operations out of T1 in April using gates A3 and A4.

 Exceeding Small Business Goals: RDU is exceeding its goals under the Minority and Women-Owned Small Businesses (MWSB) program that encourages diversity in the Airport Authority’s business activities. RDU requires that each business partner make good faith efforts to promote the MWSB policy and staff have reported some notable numbers:

  • Construction goals are 8% for minority-owned and 5% for women-owned small businesses. RDU has reached 8% and 12% respectively this fiscal year.
  • Goals for services provided are goals are 7% minority and 4% women-owned. Actual numbers are 10% and 3%.
  • For goods, RDU’s goals are 5% minority and 5% women-owned, with results of 4% and 20%.

Going Green, Again: the Airport Authority’s Board of Directors voted Thursday to double its fleet of electric buses by purchasing four additional Proterra Catalyst buses. RDU became the first public entity in the Triangle to launch electric buses when it rolled out four Proterras last May. The buses have more than 100,000 miles on them and have saved RDU an estimated $47,000 on fuel and maintenance costs. The four new buses will be purchased for $3.3 million and delivery is expected in 2021.