RDU airport gets yet another airline and another new international flight
Panama City becomes the 10th international destination that Triangle residents can reach nonstop from RDU. Copa Airlines plans to begin the route in June and fly four days a week.
Airport officials celebrated Monday’s announcement as a sign of both RDU’s economic strength and a much-needed connection between Triangle business and Latin America.
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.
Copa now flies to 16 American airports, placing RDU in the company of New York, Atlanta and Washington, D.C.
‘Raleigh-Durham is among major cities in the U.S.’
Flights from Raleigh-Durham will be added on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday starting June 21.
“We’re thrilled to bring the Raleigh-Durham region closer to Latin America,” said Dennis Cary, Copa’s senior vice president and chief communications officer. “You see now Raleigh-Durham is among major cities in the U.S.”
The announcement comes as RDU prepares for new nonstop service to two other international destinations this summer. On June 6, Lufthansa begins flying between RDU and Frankfurt, Germany, while a month later, on July 1, Aeromexico begins daily flights between RDU and Benito Juárez International Airport in Mexico City.
Meanwhile, Icelandair will increase its flights to and from Reykjavik from four days a week to seven starting May 20.
“This is an exciting time for us,” said Ellis Hankins, chairman of the RDU airport authority board. “We’re adding new airlines at a record pace. We’re adding new destinations at a record pace.”
RDU growth since the pandemic
RDU has seen significant growth since air travel essentially came to a halt in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic four years ago. Before the pandemic, RDU offered more than 220 departures a day to 57 destinations, including two in Europe. By May of 2020, airlines were making only about 40 departures a day, and all five international flights had been suspended.
Demand at RDU has come roaring back. More than 14.5 million passengers passed through the airport last year, exceeding the record set in 2019. And airlines are now offering nonstop flights to more than 65 destinations, including 10 outside the United States.
More than 449,000 passengers flew in and out of RDU on international flights last year, up 65% from the year before.
The number of airlines operating at RDU has also soared. Before the pandemic, 10 carriers did business in the Triangle. Only one, Air Canada, was based outside the U.S. Since then, RDU has attracted both new budget airlines, such as Avelo and Breeze, and new international carriers Air France, Bahamasair, Icelandair and Lufthansa.
Copa Air becomes the 18th airline doing business at RDU. Its flights will come in and out of Terminal 2, which has the only gates capable of handling incoming international passengers.
This story was originally published February 5, 2024 at 10:14 AM.
