Raleigh–Durham International Airport is the main airport serving Raleigh, Durham, and the surrounding Research Triangle region of North Carolina. It is located northeast of the town of Morrisville in Wake County. The airport covers 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) and has three runways and has passenger service to 41 destinations with 126 average daily departures, including nonstop intercontinental service to London and Paris. In 2016, RDU set an all-time record for passengers, with 11,049,143 passengers traveling through the airport. The RDU Airport Authority is in charge of the airport facilities and its operations and is controlled by a board of representatives from the counties of Wake and Durham and the cities of Raleigh and Durham. The airport is a focus city for Delta Air Lines and is also a crew base for regional carriers Trans States Airlines and GoJet Airlines.HistoryFoundingThe region's first airport opened in 1929 as Raleigh's Municipal Airport, south of town at. It was quickly outgrown, and in 1939 the North Carolina General Assembly chartered the Raleigh–Durham Aeronautical Authority to build and operate a larger airport between Raleigh and Durham. This was promoted by Eastern Air Lines, led by then chairman Eddie Rickenbacker who wanted to make RDU a stop on the airline's New York–Miami route.