RDU soars to new records in 2019 with sky high hopes for 2020
Raleigh-Durham International Airport set a new benchmark in 2019, with a record number of over 14.1 million passengers flying through the facility.
Posted — UpdatedThe Triangle's ability to land big business may depend on the airport's ability to keep pace with the surging passenger traffic.
"This has been a milestone year for RDU," Crystal Feldman, an RDU vice president, told WRAL News.
According to airport officials:
- The facility's passenger volume was up 10.5 percent over last year.
- RDU added 23 new routes.
- The airport logged the its busiest month ever and the highest single day of passengers on Dec. 1, when 54,800 customers flew through RDU.
"We are growing so quickly, and we are trying to keep pace with that growth," Feldman said. "But we also ask customers to be patient."
RDU passengers witnessed that growth in the form of traffic congestion and longer wait times at security checkpoint lines.
But passengers are not the only ones watching.
"We love our airport, but it doesn't have as many direct flights," she said.
"And we have five international destinations, and that is something companies look at," Feldman said.
"We want to build a new runway, hopefully in the very near future, and hopefully long enough (so) we can get to Asia," Feldman said.
Officials say a new ground transportation project is also in the works.
The airport's growth has earned industry accolades.
Related Topics
• Credits
Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
