Raleigh Durham International Airport (IATA: RDU, ICAO: KRDU, FAA LID: RDU) is located 9 miles (14.5 km) northwest of Morrisville in Wake County, North Carolina, between the cities of Raleigh and Durham. The airport covers 4,929 acres and has three runways. Around 12 million passengers per year use the airport for international and domestic travel.

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.

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.