What's Happening in Durham, NC…

Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU), with more than 14.1 million fliers passing through it in 2019, has a new yardstick against which to measure how well it is doing.

The ability of RDU to continue to keep pace with the growing air passenger traffic is important to the Triangle’s capability to attract large businesses to the area. Many such businesses take into account the regional airport capacity when deciding if they will bring their operations to a location.

Cities vying for a new plant or business headquarters, will want their local printing services to include the dependability and volume capacity for their regional airport in information packets mailed to potential business community members.

Passenger volume at the airport was 10.5% more than last year, with its busiest single day being December 1, which saw 54,800 passengers passing through RDU. Due to the increased volume, the airport experienced traffic congestion as well as slower-moving security checkpoint lines.

Attributes for RDU start with its 60 nonstop destinations and five international destinations, which the RDU Airport Authority hopes to increase upon. Moreover, there are newly opened parking options, high-speed Wi-Fi and two additional security checkpoints. Future improvements being considered are a new runway making it possible reach Asia, as well as a new ground transportation project.

Recently, J.D. Power changed the airport’s classification from medium-size to large and ranked it number five for customer satisfaction.