Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority Changes Terminal 1 Opening Date Due to Weather

Unseasonably cold temperatures delay opening

RDU Airport, NC – Airport Director Mike Landguth today announced that Raleigh-Durham International Airport’s Terminal 1 would not open on Sun., March 2 as originally planned due to unseasonably cold temperatures our region has experienced this winter.

“Despite our best laid plans, our construction schedule for a major element of the project was no match for Mother Nature,” said Landguth at today’s monthly meeting of the Airport Authority board. “The weather has made it impossible for crews to complete the aircraft parking area, which is an essential element of the project.”

For this project, construction crews have completely ripped up the old aircraft parking area, which is often referred to as the ramp. Since this work is done outside, its completion is dependent upon weather conditions. The unseasonably cold temperatures, in particular, have prevented crews from pouring the pavement.

The terminal building was on schedule to be completed on March 2, but the building cannot open without the aircraft parking area’s completion.

RDU staff is evaluating the work that remains and will then determine a new opening date, which will be announced in early March.

Passenger Traffic Remains Flat in January
During the month of January, 317,903 passengers departed RDU, a decrease of 1.6% compared to January 2013. The number of passengers arriving at RDU remained flat as 331,491 arrived at RDU, an increase of 0.2%.

In air service related news, United Airlines recently announced it is closing its hub at Cleveland International Airport.

Currently, United offers two daily departures from RDU to Cleveland, which will be affected by the closure.

Following United’s announcement, Delta announced that it will begin service between RDU and Cleveland this June with one daily round-trip flight.

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