RDU, Avelo Airlines announce two more international flights from the Triangle
Avelo Airlines will begin flying nonstop from the Triangle to Montego Bay, Jamaica, and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, in February, as Raleigh-Durham International Airport continues to attract new international flights.
The announcement Wednesday morning brings to five the number of new nonstop international flights that airlines have added from RDU since Nov. 14. Triangle travelers now have a record 14 international destinations to choose from.
Avelo’s new flights will operate on Wednesdays and Saturdays, using Boeing 737s. The Montego Bay flight begins Feb. 15, followed by the first Punta Cana flight on Feb. 22. The service will pause next September, then resume in mid-November.
The new flights are among the first international service from Avelo, which got its start in 2021. The carrier announced flights from Hartford, Connecticut, to Montego Bay and Cancun, Mexico, last month.
Avelo chose RDU for overseas flights because the Triangle has been a strong market for the carrier, said Giselle Cortes, vice president for airport operations. Since making its RDU debut in May 2022, Avelo has carried more than 375,000 customers on nearly 3,000 flights from the airport.
“RDU has shown so much potential,” Cortes said. “It was time. Our customers have been asking for it.”
Avelo has five other nonstop routes from RDU, including Manchester, New Hampshire; New Haven, Connecticut; Fort Myers, Florida; and Albany and Rochester in New York.
RDU has aggressively recruited new airlines and routes, touting the Triangle’s growing, affluent population and offering financial incentives in some cases. RDU will offer marketing support and waive some fees for Avelo’s international flights, said Michael Landguth, RDU’s president and CEO.
“These additions represent a significant milestone in our mission to connect our community to the world,” Landguth said.
RDU having another record year
Eleven carriers have started doing business in the Triangle since 2021, bringing the current total to 19 flying to more than 75 destinations. The airport is on track to handle more than 14.5 million passengers this year, exceeding a record set last year, Landguth said.
Three airlines — Aeromexico, Copa and Lufthansa — made their inaugural flights to international destinations from RDU this summer. Last month, Bermudair announced it would begin regular nonstops between RDU and Bermuda in April, while WestJet said it will begin flying from the Triangle to its hub in Calgary in June.
With the addition of Montego Bay and Punta Cana, travelers can now fly nonstop from RDU to four cities in Europe, four in Canada, two in Mexico and one each in Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Bermuda and Panama.
Only four gates at the north end of RDU’s Terminal 2 are connected to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection checkpoint, which limits the number of international flights that can arrive at a time. Avelo’s new flights will arrive at Terminal 2 and depart from Terminal 1 where the airline is based.
Airports in Canada and Bermuda offer preclearance for U.S.-bound passengers, allowing them to go through customs, immigration and agricultural screenings before boarding the plane. AirCanada, WestJet and Bermudair flights don’t need to use the international arrival gates at RDU.
The new Avelo flights will re-establish nonstop connections to Caribbean islands from RDU. BahamasAir, which began flying nonstop between RDU and Freeport on Grand Bahama Island in November 2022, has discontinued that service.
This story was originally published December 4, 2024 at 9:41 AM.
