Facts & Figures

NC Transportation Facts

Airport Transportation 

Airports 

• North Carolina has 74 publicly owned airports and nearly 300 privately owned.
• Nine airports have regularly scheduled commercial airline service.
• Three major international airports serve the state.
• Thirty-two, one million-plus population centers on the East Coast are within 2-hours flight time.

International Air Service

Charlotte Douglas International Airport

• Located seven miles west of uptown, the airport offers non-stop or single-plane service to 116 destinations.
• Major and commuter airlines serve Charlotte with over 500 daily departures.
• In 2003, the airport (including air carrier, commuter and international passengers) served more than 23 million passengers.
• Charlotte Douglas is the home of US Airways' largest hub.

Raleigh-Durham International Airport

• Located 11 miles northwest of Raleigh, 10 miles southeast of downtown Durham and four miles from the Research Triangle Park, RDU serves eight million passengers a year.
• Nine major passenger carriers and 11 regional airlines offer some 400 flights daily.
• Travelers can fly non-stop to more than 40 destinations in the United States.

Piedmont Triad International Airport (Greensboro)

• Located approximately 20 miles east of downtown Winston-Salem, 15 miles northwest of High Point and 10 miles from downtown Greensboro.
• Offers 86 non-stop daily flights to 17 cities; cargo service available.

Domestic Air Service

Commercial airports (other than the state's three international airports) are located in:
Asheville
Fayetteville
Greenville
Hickory
Jacksonville
Kinston
New Bern
Rocky Mount/Wilson
Southern Pines
Wilmington
Winston-Salem

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 24 ferries and has served residents and visitors since the mid-1920s.
• The ferry system annually transports nearly 2.5 million passengers and 1.3 million vehicles.
• Eight 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
           Currituck - Corolla

Highways

• North Carolina has the largest state-maintained highway system in the nation, incorporating over 78,600 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 17 North Carolina cities on six routes, including the northbound and southbound Carolinian, Piedmont, Silver Star, Silver Meteor, Crescent and Palmetto.
• The Carolinian and Piedmont are operated jointly by the State of North Carolina and Amtrak to provide daily, round-trip passenger rail service between Charlotte and Raleigh. The Carolinian continues service to the Northeast.
• Annually, nearly 450,000 rail passengers begin or end their trips at one of North Carolina's Amtrak stations.

added: January 3, 2009

updated: February 11, 2010