Few people are flying, but RDU installs plastic shields, implements one-way foot traffic to limit virus

Raleigh-Durham International Airport has taken a number of steps to limit the spread of coronavirus among the few people still flying.

RDU Chief Executive Michael Landguth said Thursday that traffic through the airport was down more than 96 percent in April from the same month last year. Only 40,000 travelers flew through RDU in April, while 40,000 people traveled through the airport on an average day before the pandemic, he said.

"It's a consistent story you hear at airports across the country and around the world," Landguth said.

"It is very surreal because I do not see a lot of people," said Angela Roe, who traveled through RDU on Thursday.

As North Carolina gradually eases stay-at-home restrictions and resumes business and social activities, he said, he hopes more people will start flying again. To prepare, RDU has taken the following steps to keep travelers and airport employees safe:

• Enhanced cleaning and disinfecting of common areas and desks
• Physical and digital signs reminding people to keep 6 feet of physical distancing
• Encouraging everyone to wear masks in the airport
• Placing dozens of hand sanitizer stations throughout RDU, with dozens more on backorder
• Running health and safety intercom announcements throughout the day
• Installing sneeze guards at all counters, including those at gates and parking, ticket and check-in counters
• One way directional signing throughout the airport
• Contact-less parking and payment options
• Asking employees to self-monitor and stay home if they are ill

Temperature checks aren't in place at RDU, as they are at some airports. Frontier Airlines plans to begin screening passengers on June 1.

"It is a little nerve-wracking because you never know. You don’t want to touch anything," Roe said.

Landguth recommended that flyers check with their airline for the most up-to-date information before traveling, since some airlines require masks and some don’t.

"The health and safety of everyone at the airport is our top priority," he said.

The plummeting air traffic has cut into RDU's operating budget.

Landguth said the airport's $300 million budget was approved by the RDU Airport Authority Board in February. By April 1, $150 million was stripped out to keep the airport running.

"That is really a survival budget," he said. "This will be a slow road to recovery, I believe. It is going to take a while."

RDU has cut costs by consolidating its parking methods, and airlines are making week-to-week schedule adjustments based on demand, he said.

The number of seats available to travelers is down 83 percent in May and is expected to be reduced by 78 percent in June, he said, so people should keep checking with their airline on flight schedules so they won't be surprised by a changing schedule.