"The airport covers 4,929 acres and has three runways. RDU is one of the fastest-growing airports in the United States; it serves around 10 million passengers per year for international and domestic travel. Air service and airport service are a combination of effort between the RDU Airport Authority, the counties of Wake and Durham, the cities of Raleigh and Durham, and Research Triangle Region."
"Raleigh's municipal airport opened in 1929, south of the city, but its runways were very short. In 1939 the North Carolina General Assembly chartered the Raleigh-Durham Aeronautical Authority to build and operate a replacement airport convenient to both Raleigh and Durham. This effort was strongly promoted by Eastern Air Lines, then led by Eddie Rickenbacker who wanted to make the Raleigh/Durham area a stop on its New York-Miami route. RDU opened for commercial service on May 1, 1943 with Eastern flights. After World War II, Capital Airlines and Piedmont Airlines joined Eastern at RDU. Delta Air Lines and Allegheny Airlines began service in the 1970s, and Trans World Airlines and American Airlines began service in the 1980s. In 1987, RDU doubled in size when American opened a north-south hub in a new terminal with a new apron and runway. The hub was operational until 1996, and brought RDU its first international flights. American's presence at RDU was replaced by Midway Airlines, which opened a new hub in Terminal C as American pulled out; this hub closed in 2001."