Prepare for crowds: RDU Airport expects triple-digit spike in holiday traffic

People traveling through Raleigh-Durham International Airport over the Thanksgiving holiday should prepare for long wait times and large crowds. Airport officials suggest arriving up to two hours early to find parking and get through security.

Posted 9:03 p.m. Nov 17, 2021 — Updated 9:55 p.m. Nov 17, 2021

MORRISVILLE, N.C. — Raleigh-Durham International Airport is getting ready for its busiest holiday season since before the pandemic. The surge of expected travelers starts next week, with Thanksgiving.

People traveling through RDU over the Thanksgiving holiday should prepare for long wait times and large crowds. Airport officials suggest arriving up to two hours early to find parking and get through security.

Parking could also be an issue, and RDU said in a release that they are shifting employee parking to accommodate 1,000 extra spaces for travelers – as well as increasing parking rates in some areas.

On Wednesday afternoon, airport officials announced that the airport expects to welcome more than 234,000 passengers from Monday through Sunday of Thanksgiving week – an increase of 129% over the same week last year.

RDU officials anticipate Sunday being the busiest single day of the week, with around 44,000 people projected to travel in a single day.

“Our projections for Thanksgiving indicate RDU will be very busy as travelers take off to visit loved ones over the holiday,” said Michael Landguth, president and CEO of the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority. “With larger crowds expected, we ask our guests to pack their patience and give themselves at least two hours to park, check in, get through security and get to their gate on time.”

RDU airport predicts another post-pandemic record travel weekend

RDU Airport makes changes to parking costs and public parking options

Along with larger crowds in the terminals, guests should expect more cars in the parking deck and remote lot.

RDU consolidated all public parking options into ParkRDU Central and Premier at the onset of the pandemic and significantly discounted the drive-up and online rates for all open facilities.

Beginning Friday, RDU is increasing parking rates and putting changes into effect to help them manage capacity.

Drive-up and online rates for Central will be increased by $2 per day, with the daily drive-up rate at $15 and daily online rate at $12.
The online rate for Premier will also be increased by $2. Premier’s drive-up rate remains at $22 per day, the same rate RDU charged before the pandemic.
RDU is keeping the Economy 3 lot rate at $10 a day.
RDU employees are being moved out of Economy 3 parking to create an additional 1,000 parking spaces for travelers.

"Airport guests can save money by reserving parking entry online while there are spaces available for the holidays," RDU officials wrote in a release.

RDU says the best daily rates are available at ParkRDU.com to encourage guests to book parking at least 24 hours in advance. RDU will honor the online rate for customers who booked their parking online prior to the rate change.

Passenger traffic has recovered to 75% of 2019 levels, according to officials, and the airport hopes to generate the income it needs to build for the future.

Carry On: RDU announces plans to get travel back on track

"The airport is reactivating several Vision 2040 capital projects to prepare for future growth, triggering a nearly $1.8 billion 10-year program that can’t be deferred amid significant economic and population growth," said the release.

Officials said RDU is also trying to manage substantial increases in labor and material prices that are driving up the cost of construction.

Officials say RDU will continue to review parking trends, rates and promotions to help manage parking capacity and is prepared to open additional lots if needed.

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