Busy travel weekend at Raleigh-Durham Airport ahead of July 4th

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Many people headed to Raleigh-Durham International Airport Friday just one week before the July 4th holiday.

The Federal Aviation Administration expects Thursday to be the busiest air travel day of the year so far as people travel for the summer.

An estimated 53,000 flights are expected Thursday alone with between 30,000 and 50,000 each day from Friday to July 8th.

Rachana Chapagai was one of the many people flying on Thursday.

“We just came here to visit our friends and family,” said Chapagai. “It’s busy compared to yesterday.” 

The TSA also predicts a very busy summer travel season.

The administration says summer travel typically peaks over the Independence Day holiday. They expect Friday to be the busiest day, screening over 32 million people on Friday alone.

Savon Huggins is one of the many already planning his Fourth of July trip. 

“My wife and I are planning a trip to Arizona,” said Huggins. “If we go anywhere we’re going to fly to avoid sitting in traffic for hours at a time with two children.”

RDU is already seeing record numbers. Just Sunday alone they screened over 28,000 people. 

If you plan on flying out of the airport RDU recommends booking your parking 24 hours in advance.

You can check parking availability here.