Nearly 60,000 people were expected to pass through the airport on Sunday, breaking a 2019 single-day record.
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ABC11 was there, talking to passengers and watching the steady flow of travelers arriving and departing.
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A few faced delays because of the weather. Others navigated long lines and traffic to get to the airport
On Sunday morning, FlightAware showed more than 2,300 flight delays with departures and arrivals within the United States. As of early Sunday morning, RDU had six flight delays.
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But by and large, passengers said they were prepared for long lines during the holiday season.
Some arrived as many as three hours ahead of their departure times.
"It has been chaos. Yeah. I mean, you see the airports are packed," said traveler Julie Gonzalez. "Lines are really long. Unfortunately, I still don't have the TSA PreCheck. So I'm feeling it. But, you know, I'm just trying to be as prepared as possible and wear shoes that I can easily slip off. Trying to make it as quick as inefficient as one can."
The day was also shaping up to be a busy one for TSA. Agents could screen as many as 2.5 million passengers at checkpoints nationwide.