Transportation Facts
North Carolina is accessible to visitors through airports, the largest state-maintained highway system in the country, Amtrak, the second largest ferry system in the nation and seaports.
Airport Transportation
Airports
- North Carolina has 74 publicly owned airports and nearly 300 privately owned.
- Nine airports have regularly scheduled commercial airline service.
- Four major international airports serve the state.
- Over 47 million passengers fly to and from North Carolina each year
International Air Service
Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT)
- Located seven miles west of uptown, the airport offers non-stop or single-plane service to 128 destinations.
- Major and commuter airlines serve Charlotte with over 620 daily departures.
- In 2008, the airport (including air carrier, commuter and international passengers) served more than 34 million passengers.
- Charlotte Douglas is the home of US Airways' largest hub.
- Ranks 8th nationwide in operations, in 2008
| Non-Stop Direct International Service: | Airlines Serving Charlotte Douglas: |
| Antigua, Caribbean Aruba Barbados Belize Bermuda Cancun, Mexico Cozumel Frankfurt, Germany Freeport, Bahamas Grand Cayman, Caribbean Honolulu, Hawaii Liberia, Costa Rica London, England Mexico City Montego Bay, Jamaica Montreal, Canada Munich, Germany Nassau, Bahamas Paris, France Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Punta Cana, Dominican Republic Rio de Janeiro, Brazil San Jose, Costa Rica San Juan, Puerto Rico St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands St. Lucia St. Maarten, Netherland Antilles St. Kitts St. Thomas, U.S Virgin Islands Toronto, Canada |
Air Canada Jazz |
Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU)
- Located 11 miles northwest of Raleigh, 10 miles southeast of downtown Durham and four miles from the Research Triangle Park, RDU serves nine million passengers a year.
- Nine major passenger carriers and six regional airlines offer some 400 flights daily.
- Travelers can fly non-stop to more than 35 destinations in the United States.
| Non-Stop International Service: |
Airlines Serving Raleigh-Durham: |
|
Cancun, Mexico |
Air Canada |
Piedmont Triad International Airport (GSO)
- Located approximately 20 miles east of downtown Winston-Salem, 15 miles northwest of High Point and 10 miles from downtown Greensboro.
- Offers 68 non-stop daily flights to 16 cities; cargo service available.
| Airlines Serving Piedmont Triad International Airport |
|
|
Air Wisconsin |
Go Jet |
Domestic Air Service
Commercial airports (other than the above international airports) are located in:
Asheville
Fayetteville
Greenville
Jacksonville
Kinston
New Bern
Southern Pines
Wilmington (also has International flights)
Water Transport
Seaports
- North Carolina has two modern deep-water ports and an intermodal terminal network. Foreign Trade Zones are in operation at both ports, as well as in Charlotte and Research Triangle Park.
Ferry System
- North Carolina's ferry system, second largest in the nation and largest on the East Coast, operates 21 ferries and has served residents and visitors since the mid-1940s.
- The ferry system annually transports nearly 2.1 million passengers and over 1 million vehicles.
- Seven ferry routes operate along the North Carolina coast:
Cherry Branch - Minnesott Beach
Currituck - Knotts Island
Aurora - Bayview
Cedar Island - Ocracoke*
Ocracoke - Swan Quarter*
Ocracoke - Hatteras Island
Southport - Fort Fisher
Those with asterisks require a reservation which can be made online at www.ncferry.org or by calling 1-800-293-3779 (BY-FERRY).
Highways
- North Carolina has the second largest state-maintained highway system in the nation, incorporating over 80,000 miles of highways. It provides same-day access to major eastern US markets.
- Five major interstate highways intersect North Carolina: I-26, I-40, I-77, I-85 and I-95.
Intercity Passenger Rail
- Twelve daily Amtrak passenger trains serve 16 North Carolina cities on six routes, including the northbound and southbound Carolinian, Piedmont, Silver Star, Silver Meteor, Crescent and Palmetto.
- State-supported North Carolina’s Amtrak is a fleet of two trains, the Piedmont and
Carolinian, which offer daily service to Raleigh, Greensboro, Charlotte, nine other North
Carolina cities and cities in the northeast. Amtrak is the state’s operating partner. - Annually, nearly 580,000 rail passengers begin or end their trips at one of North Carolina's Amtrak stations.
