While Santa is back at the North Pole after another Christmas, the holiday travel isn’t over yet.
Many travelers spend Christmas Day landing and taking off from Raleigh-Durham International Airport. While the holiday season is one of the airport’s busiest times, many said they had no trouble making their flights.
It was a stark contrast to Christmas Eve when a technical error grounded several American Airlines flights for hours, including 15 from RDU.
Bakul Patel, who went to RDU to drop his parents off before their flight to India, said traffic at the airport was “easy”.
“Traffic here hasn’t been too bad, but the airport doesn’t look very busy today either,” he told WRAL News. “We’ll go to my brother’s house, have dinner, relax, get into our pajamas, and eat some food.
Although travel was smoother than earlier in the week, some were not so lucky. According to FlightAware, which provides real-time flight tracking across the country, 14 flights were delayed and two were canceled on Wednesday at RDU.
Ursula Polo, whose family is heading to Kenya to attend a family member’s wedding, said Christmas has become the perfect day to travel.
“I don’t have to cook, so I think that’s an advantage, and we open presents early, so that’s an advantage, too,” she said.
With Christmas and New Year’s Eve behind us, there are still busy travel days before the end of 2024.
Tips for RDU travelers:
- Allow extra time: Expect road congestion in the late afternoon and evening
- Book parking online: Reserve parking on parkrdu.com at least 24 hours in advance to guarantee entry. Check rdu.com for availability if not booked in advance
- Check your flight: Use airline apps or rdu.com to get flight status updates. Check your flight status before leaving home.
- Arrive early: Arrive 2 hours early for domestic flights and 3 hours early for international flights to allow time for parking, check-in and security.
- Preparedness for security: Review TSA guidelines and consider expedited options like PreCheck or CLEAR.
- Use the cell group: For pickups, wait in the free cell plaza at 1000 Trade Drive until your party is ready. Allow them 30 minutes to collect their bags and meet you at the curb.
To reduce crowding, receptions can be held in Terminal 2 on the upper and lower levels.
Another tip for travelers: many of the economy parking lots at RDU are currently full. However, finding an open space may be easier thanks to green indicator lights that indicate available spaces.
Fewer people are also expected to travel for Christmas, but those who do have some good news. Drivers will likely see the lowest Christmas Day gas prices since 2020 during the pandemic, according to GasBuddy.
