Plan ahead to ensure a parking spot at RDU for holiday travel

One of the major things travelers should be mindful of is parking availability, airport officials said.

"We're back for Thanksgiving, and I know the airport is going to get crazy," one RDU visitor told WRAL News.

Travelers on Monday said it took an additional 15 to 20 minutes to find a parking spot, and that's expected to increase as the week goes on.

On Tuesday morning, the first day of Thanksgiving break for many families, the airport was busy but there were no delays to report.

"We expect a tremendous increase over traffic last year," said RDU spokeswoman Stephanie Hawco.

Airport officials expect Sunday to be the busiest single day of the week, with around 44,000 people projected to travel in a single day. With the expected traffic comes parking decks difficult to navigate through.

"I'm on on the third level of central [parking deck]," said Abdur Akbuar. "Usually, I get the first or second. You're definitely going up higher these days."

Some travelers said they noticed full decks at the airport as early as last week.

“When we left out about four days ago, general parking was full ... general parking is filling up fast," said another traveler.

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"We had to park at the top on Monday," he added. “We thought we were here in time before the Thanksgiving holiday."

By 2 p.m. on Monday, the premier lot at RDU was at 58 percent full, the central lot was 60 percent full and economy 3 was 37 percent full. To help manage the capacity, RDU has also implemented changes and increased parking rates:

"We have already reopened the Economy Lot 3. We did that earlier during the year. We also freed up an extra 1,000 spaces in that lot by moving employees to a different area," said Hawco. "So we expect to have parking capacity this week, and we will also have a wide range of locations and prices for our customers.”

Those heading to the airport are advised to reserve a spot online in advance to save some money.

"We did premier parking. Oh my goodness, $22 a day. We've got like [an] $80 bill waiting on us," said Tamara Barrett.

Travelers are also advised to get to the airport at least two hours in advance.

"[There's] a lot of people going back and forward, up and down lanes trying to find spots as well," said Akubar.

Two of RDU's parking lots - RDU Express and Economy Lot 4 - have been closed for the majority of the coronavirus pandemic.

But a spokesperson for the airport said a lot goes into consideration when determining if additional lots can be opened, such as staff resources.