RDU Posts Monthly Gain in Passengers

RDU Airport, NC – In September, Raleigh-Durham International Airport posted a gain in passengers compared to the same month last year. The increase follows months of little or no growth in passenger traffic. RDU also reported an increase in the amount of cargo moving through the airport.

Throughout September, 728,758 passengers traveled through RDU compared to 703,042 during the same month last year, an increase of more than 3 percent. Year-to-date, the number of passengers traveling through RDU is up 1 percent compared to the same period in 2009.

The statistics were released today at the monthly meeting of the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority Board of Directors.

RDU also announced that airline seat capacity increased for the first time in 28 months.

In 2008, in response to record-high fuel costs and the economic downturn, airlines began decreasing seat availability at airports across the country by either using smaller aircraft or discontinuing flights.

In September, the amount of cargo shipped out of RDU increased by 1.2 percent compared to the same month last year, while the amount of cargo shipped into RDU increased by 2.4 percent compared to September 2009.  For the year, the amount of cargo passing through RDU increased by more than 6 percent compared to the same period last year.

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