RDU airport in NC adds more international flights. Here’s where you can fly nonstop.
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RDU International Airport’s Plans to Grow
RDU plans $3 billion worth of construction projects over the coming decade to try to keep up with the region’s growth. Much of the work is laid out in a 25-year master plan called Vision 2040 that the airport adopted in 2016. The projects will turn the airport, with its record number of passengers, into a construction zone in the coming years. Here is ongoing coverage from The News & Observer.
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In the past few years, four airlines have put the spotlight on the “international” part of Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
On Feb. 5, Copa Airlines announced it would begin flying from RDU to Panama City in June, becoming the 10th international destination that Triangle travelers can reach nonstop.
Aeromexico announced in November it would start nonstop flights between RDU and Mexico City next summer, becoming the second destination in Mexico after Cancun.
The announcement comes after Air France recently took over the Paris route from Delta, and Lufthansa announced it would begin flying nonstop between RDU and Frankfurt, Germany, next summer.
If you’re hoping to make use of your passport in the coming year, here’s a look at the 10 international destinations you can fly to nonstop from RDU.
Mexico
Destinations: Cancun and Mexico City
Aeromexico’s announcement gives RDU two nonstop flights to Mexico, after Cancun on the Yucatan Peninsula.
How to go:
- American and JetBlue already fly to Cancun International Airport, with Delta starting flights in December.
- Aeromexico will begin the 1,675-mile nonstop service to Mexico City Juárez International Airport on July 1, 2024. The 99-seat plane will fly daily under a joint agreement between Aeromexico and Delta Air Lines.
- Book flights at aeromexico.com.
Panama
Destination: Panama City
Copa Airlines represents a much-needed connection between the Triangle and Latin America. Copa flies already from New York, Atlanta and Washington, D.C.
How to go:
- Flights from Raleigh-Durham begin June 21 and will operate Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday on a 160-seat Boeing 737-800 (16 Business Class, 144 Economy).
- From its hub in Panama City, Copa can reach 80 destinations in 32 countries, offering passengers service to Central and South America without going through customs or re-checking bags.
Flights will come in and out of Terminal 2.
Canada
Destinations: Toronto and Montreal
Air Canada has been flying to Toronto since 1997, becoming RDU’s first international carrier. Service to Montreal began in 2019.
How to go:
- The airline flies twice daily between RDU and Toronto-Pearson International Airport.
- The Montreal flight is daily on a 50-seat Canadair Regional Jet. It is on pause for now but will resume in May.
- Book flights at aircanada.com.
Germany
Lufthansa announced in September that its flights to Frankfurt, Germany, would begin June 6.
How to go:
- Lufthansa will operate the flights year around 5 days a week: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Flights will arrive at RDU shortly before 2 p.m. and leave shortly before 4 p.m.
- Frankfurt Airport — 4,277 miles from RDU — is Lufthansa’s hub in Germany, with connecting flights to Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India.
- The plane will have 255 seats with 42 Business, 28 Premium Economy and 185 Economy.
- Book flights at lufthansa.com.
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Bahamas
Bahamasair resumed twice weekly flights between the Triangle and Freeport on Grand Bahama Island this month, and they’ll continue through the winter and spring. The airline began flying a year ago to RDU, one of only five U.S. destinations for the carrier, but suspended the service Aug. 20.
How to go:
- The resumed flights began Nov. 12 and will operate Thursdays and Sundays, taking about two hours each way.
- From Freeport, Triangle travelers can continue on to Nassau, the nation’s capital, where they can catch connecting flights to 11 other airports in the Bahamas.
- The airline says it expects to end the flights for the summer on May 30, 2024.
- Book flights at bahamasair.com.
United Kingdom
American Airlines began flying nonstop from RDU to London’s Heathrow Airport in 1994, but suspended the flights during the COVID-19 pandemic. The direct flights resumed in June 2022.
How to go:
- The flight operates daily on a Boeing 777-200 aircraft, which has 272 seats, including 36 with lie-flat seating.
- Book flights at aa.com.
France
The first Air France flight from Paris pulled to the RDU gate in October with much fanfare. Air France took over the Paris route that Delta Air Lines began in 2016 and revived in the spring of 2021.
How to go:
- The airline will initially fly the Paris route three days a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The airline is scheduled to resume daily flights on March 31.
- Paris offers connecting flights to the rest of Europe, Africa, India and the Middle East.
- Air France and Delta are partners, seamlessly selling tickets to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport on each other’s flights.
- Travelers will fly on a 279-seat Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
- Book flights at airfrance.us.
Iceland
Icelandair launched new flights to Iceland in May 2022, flying four days a week May through October. Iceland quickly became a popular destination but also a mid-way connector to the United Kingdom, Scandinavia and other parts of Europe, with more than 70,000 passengers taking the route so far.
How to go:
- The airline said the service would operate daily starting May 20.
- Passengers travel on a 160-seat Boeing 737MAX 8 to Keflavik, the airport outside Iceland’s capital Reykjavik.
- Book flights at icelandair.com.
This story was originally published November 14, 2023 at 5:55 AM.
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