Coronavirus has emptied airports; here’s where airlines are still flying from RDU

Richard Stradling
·2 min read

When times were good and no one had ever heard of COVID-19, more than 400 flights a day lifted off from Raleigh-Durham International Airport, carrying travelers to one of 57 nonstop destinations, from Paris to Los Angeles.

On Friday, RDU listed 128 departing flights, and of those more than half were canceled. The depleted schedule reflects the sharp drop in air travel from the Triangle: the number of people boarding flights at RDU this week was about 94% less than the same time last year, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

The number of flights on RDU’s departure board has dropped from 207 on March 16. Two airlines, Frontier and Air Canada, had no flights even scheduled Friday; all three of the flights listed for Allegiant Airlines were canceled, and JetBlue expected to operate just one flight, to Boston.

Travelers, and airlines, appear to be avoiding New York City, where the coronavirus outbreak has sickened tens of thousands of people and killed more than 1,560. Of the 17 departures to New York listed by RDU on Friday, 15 were canceled.

New Orleans, also hard hit by the virus, is normally one of RDU’s most competitive destinations, with five airlines offering nonstop flights. On Friday, just one flight was scheduled to leave for the city, on Spirit Airlines.

Other leisure destinations have also taken a hit. Of the 19 flights to Florida scheduled for Friday, airlines had canceled all but five — three to Orlando and one each to Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

The two cities receiving the most flights from RDU on Friday, Charlotte and Chicago, are key airline hubs where passengers can catch connecting flights. They each had nine. Baltimore, a hub for Southwest Airlines, was next with five flights, followed by four each for Washington and Boston.

Several cities normally served by nonstop flights from RDU no longer are, at least for now. They include Las Vegas, San Francisco, Toronto, Cleveland and Austin, not to mention the two European cities that were among the first to be scrubbed from the schedule, London and Paris.

RDU has adjusted to the drop in travelers by closing its remote parking lots and cutting its budget for the coming year by a third. American, United and Delta have closed their airline clubs, and the USO has closed its center for veterans and active-duty military.

For the latest flight information from RDU, check with your airline or go to www.rdu.com/airline-information/flight-status/.

Passenger traffic has fallen dramatically during the coronavirus outbreak and was 94% lower the week ending April 3 than the same period last year.
Passenger traffic has fallen dramatically during the coronavirus outbreak and was 94% lower the week ending April 3 than the same period last year.

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