RDU Shelves Expansion Projects, Doesn't Expect Airline Traffic to Rebound for Years
Many people grounded by the coronavirus pandemic will eventually want to fly again, but Raleigh-Durham International Airport expects the number of passengers at RDU will still be 20% below pre-COVID levels by the end of 2024.
That’s why RDU is putting off several expansion projects meant to keep up with what had been significant growth in travelers before the pandemic. Six months ago, RDU was laying the groundwork to add gates to both terminals, build a new rental car facility and expand the customs area in Terminal 2.
Now, with fewer passengers and less revenue, RDU will retrench and focus its construction efforts on improving what it already has, says Bill Sandifer, the chief operating officer. Most of that work will be done on the airfield, in rebuilding runways, taxiways and aprons.
“The pressure around growth has really relaxed,” Sandifer told members of the RDU Airport Authority on Thursday. “That has given us an opportunity to focus on really the heart of our infrastructure to continue to make sure we’re making the investment where we need to make it.”
The delayed projects include some that were already started, including the addition of two new lanes to the security checkpoint in Terminal 2 and the reopening of four gates in Terminal 1. Allegiant and Spirit airlines were scheduled to move to those gates in Terminal 1 this spring but will remain in Terminal 2 for the time being.
The coronavirus outbreak has devastated the airline business, cutting the number of travelers at RDU more than 96%. Only 40,000 passengers came through during all of April, a number the airport would have handled in a single day last year.
People are slowly coming back, says airport president Michael Landguth. Last month, nearly 98,000 flew in or out of RDU, and the number of seats occupied on a given flight averaged 37.4%, up from 12.1% in April.
Still, traffic in May was down 92.5% from last year, Landguth said.
On June 7, a Sunday, 3,712 departing passengers passed through the Transportation Safety Administration’s checkpoints, the busiest day for RDU since March 18, Landguth said. Last week, the TSA screened about 26,000 passengers at RDU, up 29% from the week before.
“RDU’s passenger levels are consistent with airports in other markets, where passenger traffic is also growing incrementally,” Landguth said.
RDU expects that growth to continue. Airport officials predict that about 3 million travelers will pass through their terminals between June 1 and the end of the year, for a total of about 5.5 million. That compares to 14.2 million last year.
Fewer passengers means less revenue from parking, rental cars and sales of food and merchandise in the terminals. Ronald Kapocius, RDU’s controller, said the airport now expects to receive about $65.4 million in operating revenue this year, 63% less than expected when the year began.
The lower revenue has forced RDU to cut overall spending for the year by 45%, adopting what Landguth calls a “survival budget.” That includes putting off $96 million in capital projects.
Last year, RDU was scrambling to get ahead of passenger growth that at times overwhelmed the TSA checkpoints and crowded terminal waiting areas.
The number of people passing through RDU grew 42% between 2015 and last year, and airport planners had expected it would grow another 32% by 2024, to 18.8 million. Now their best guess is that about 11.6 million will fly in or out of the airport that year.
RDU and airlines have taken steps to try to help passengers feel safe flying again. They include increased cleaning and sanitation and new configurations of waiting areas and procedures for boarding to keep people from crowding together. RDU has erected signs urging everyone to wear a mask in the terminals and keep 6 feet apart.
In a sign of confidence that travelers will return, some stores and restaurants in the terminals that closed in March are starting to reopen. In Terminal 2, the 42nd Street Oyster Bar and California Pizza Kitchen reopened Thursday, while ACC American Café, La Tapenade and Raleigh Taproom are expected to open by the end of the month.
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