RDU's New Runway will be Exactly 639 Feet Longer than the Existing One. Why that Matters.

Apr. 20—MORRISVILLE — The new main runway at Raleigh-Durham International Airport will be longer than the one it replaces, though still not as long as the airport had once hoped.

The Federal Aviation Administration now says RDU can build a 10,639-foot runway to replace the aging 10,000-foot strip on the west side of the airfield in front of Terminal 2. That added length is important, said Michael Landguth, RDU's president and CEO.

"Adding more than 600 feet of takeoff distance to RDU's future runway will allow existing airlines to carry more passengers and cargo," Landguth said in a written statement. "It will also provide greater economic opportunities for Triangle-area businesses and communities."

RDU had once planned to replace its 10,000-foot main runway with one that is 11,500 feet long. That length would ensure that large jets loaded with passengers, luggage and fuel bound for Asia would have enough room to safely take off in all kinds of weather.

The sharp decline in air travel caused by the COVID-19 pandemic caused RDU to scale back its ambitions. Replacing the planned runway with one the same size also would help get the work done faster and at lower cost, airport officials said a year ago.

But Alaska Airlines, which operates daily flights between RDU and Seattle, sought a longer runway to allow it to carry more passengers, cargo and fuel to the West Coast on its fleet of Boeing 737-900s. The FAA cited information provided by the airline in authorizing the extra 639 feet, according to RDU.

Business and community groups led by the Regional Transportation Alliance and North Carolina's U.S. senators, Richard Burr and Thom Tillis, also lobbied the FAA.

RDU spokeswoman Stephanie Hawco said the planned length, down to the foot, came out of a "complex FAA model that considers aircraft type and weight, the number of takeoffs and landings, the FAA's design criteria for runways and many other factors."

RDU's existing main runway was completed in 1986 and is nearing the end of its useful life. Contractors have replaced hundreds of slabs of crumbling concrete in recent years, working mostly at night when the runway isn't needed.

At 10,000 feet, the runway is long enough for the largest planes that land there, including cargo carriers, nonstop flights to Paris and London and the occasional visit from Air Force One and military aircraft. The airport's other commercial runway, on the east side of the airfield, is 7,500 feet long, sufficient for most domestic flights.

RDU is still doing environmental studies for the new runway. Assuming the FAA and other agencies approve the project and the airport can put together the financing, RDU expects to begin construction in 2023 and open the new runway in 2027, Hawco said.

This story was originally published April 20, 2022 5:14 PM.

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