Richmond International Airport is a joint civil-military airport in

Sandston, Virginia Sandston is a census-designated place (CDP) in Henrico County, Virginia, United States, just outside the state capital of Richmond. The population as of the 2010 Census was 7,571. It was designated a Historic District by Henrico County in 202 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, an unincorporated community (in

Henrico County Henrico County , officially the County of Henrico, is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 334,389 making it the fifth-most populous county in Virginia. Henrico County is incl ...

). The airport is about 7 miles (11 km) southeast of downtown Richmond, the capital of the

Commonwealth of Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

. Richmond International Airport is the busiest airport in

central Virginia The Greater Richmond Region, the Richmond metropolitan area or Central Virginia, is a region and metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Virginia, centered on Richmond. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defines the area as the Richmo ...

and the third-busiest in the state behind Washington D.C.'s two major airports, Washington Dulles and

Washington National Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport , sometimes referred to colloquially as National Airport, Washington National, Reagan National Airport, DCA, Reagan, or simply National, is an international airport in Arlington County, Virginia, across ...

. RIC covers 2,500 acres (1,012 ha) of land.

Overview

The Capital Region Airport Commission (CRAC) owns and operates Richmond International Airport. Established in 1975 by the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 16 ...

, the commission is overseen by representatives of the counties of Chesterfield,

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, and Henrico, and the

City of Richmond The City of Richmond was a local government area about east of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1855 until 1994. History Richmond was incorporated as a municipality on 24 A ...

. RIC serves the

Greater Richmond Region The Greater Richmond Region, the Richmond metropolitan area or Central Virginia, is a region and metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Virginia, centered on Richmond. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defines the area as the Richm ...

with non-stop flights to 26 destinations, serviced by seven air carriers. A joint-civil-military public airport, RIC houses the former property of the Richmond International Airport Air National Guard Station, which was transferred to the Department of the Army in support of U.S. Army Reserves and

Virginia Army National Guard The Virginia Army National Guard is composed of approximately 7000 soldiers and maintains 46 armories in communities throughout Virginia. The Governor may call individuals or units of the Virginia National Guard into state service during emerg ...

Activities. In the early 2000s Richmond saw another period of extensive growth, and in 2005 it announced a complete redesign. RIC went from a single story terminal with 12 gates to 22 gates (plus numerous non-jet bridge gates), added parking spaces (to 10,500), and created a new terminal roadway and air traffic control tower. The project features major renovations of the terminal building, including upper-level departures and lower-level arrivals, the construction of a central utility plant, and the widening of security checkpoints. Construction on the two-level terminal was completed in spring 2007, and was designed by Gresham, Smith & Partners. Due to passenger growth, Richmond reopened its international gate (B15) for flights to Cancun, Toronto, Punta Cana, all of which are seasonal services. In 2016 Richmond recorded its second highest yearly passenger volume, and RIC plans a major expansion, starting in the fall of 2018. The number of gates will increase from 22 to 28 or 30 by adding 6 or 8 gates (net) to its A Concourse. Construction was to begin in late summer/early fall 2018 and last for 15 months. As of January 2020, the construction work was projected to be done by the summer of 2020. The airport is also planning an expansion of the checkpoint area in Concourse B, which currently has four TSA screening lanes. This project will increase the number of lanes available to at least six. That expansion is estimated to cost $4 million and will be underway in the late summer or fall of 2018, with construction set to last for about eight months. Concourse A has three screening lanes in its checkpoint area, though that is likely to be expanded in the next few years. More construction at the airport is coming - the Capital Region Airport Commission is looking into moving the rental car counters from the central portion of the lower lobby level to an expanded north baggage claim area. The airport also expects to add an enclosed two-level connecting walkway between the terminal and the rental car garage. The rental car garage is also set to expand. In 2016 Richmond International Airport handled over 63,000

ton Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean * the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds ...

s of cargo, an all-time high. Cargo services include more than of warehouse/office space and of apron space. The airport is designated a Foreign Trade Zone. Because of its position on the Eastern Seaboard, cargo transit via RIC is on the rise. Goods shipped out of the metropolitan Richmond area can reach 72% of the U.S. population within 24 hours. In 2016 RIC reported its 32nd consecutive month of growth, with an estimated 345,000 travelers reported in October 2016. Several airlines serving RIC have responded to growing demand with upgraded routes and aircraft.

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along w ...

JetBlue Airways JetBlue Airways Corporation (stylized as jetBlue) is a major American low cost airline, and the seventh largest airline in North America by passengers carried. The airline is headquartered in the Long Island City neighborhood of the New York C ...

and Southwest Airlines have added additional routes and larger aircraft in 2017.

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

up-gauged its

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

service to a mainline aircraft, replacing the Embraer E-175 used with

United Express United Express is the brand name for the regional branch of United Airlines, under which six individually owned regional airlines operate short- and medium-haul feeder flights. On October 1, 2010, UAL Corporation and Continental Airlines merged t ...

. In 2017 the airport served 3,657,479 passengers, an all-time record for the airport, breaking its previous record of 3,634,544 in 2007. In 2018, RIC set an all time passenger record of 4,077,763, an 11.5% increase over 2017. RIC is served by airlines flying primarily domestic routes to cities in the South, Northeast, and Midwest, and connecting flights to major hubs for international destinations.

History

The airport was dedicated as Richard Evelyn Byrd Flying Field in 1927 in honor of aviator

Richard E. Byrd Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer and explorer. He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the highest honor for valor given by the United States, and was a pioneering American aviator, p ...

, brother of then Gov.

Harry F. Byrd Harry Flood Byrd Sr. (June 10, 1887 – October 20, 1966) was an American newspaper publisher, politician, and leader of the Democratic Party in Virginia for four decades as head of a political faction that became known as the Byrd Organization. ...

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

attended the dedication ceremony. Although the facility was in Henrico County, Richmond Mayor

John Fulmer Bright John Fulmer Bright (November 17, 1877 – December 29, 1953) was an American politician and physician. Bright received an M.D. from the Medical College of Virginia in 1898. He sat in the Virginia House of Delegates representing the city of Rich ...

was instrumental in the creation of Byrd Field, which was initially owned by the City of Richmond. It was renamed Richard E. Byrd Airport in 1950, and became Richmond International Airport in 1984. The airport's manager from 1957 to 1988 was Anthony E. Dowd, Sr. A terminal building designed by Marcellus Wright and Son was completed in 1950. It was expanded from 1968 to 1970, which included the current passenger concourses. The April 1957

Official Airline Guide OAG is a global travel data provider with headquarters in the UK. The company was founded in 1929 and operates in the USA, Singapore, Japan, Lithuania and China. It has a large network of flight information data including schedules, flight st ...

lists 43 weekday departures: 22 on Eastern Air Lines, ten on

Piedmont Airlines Piedmont Airlines, Inc. is an American regional airline headquartered at the Salisbury Regional Airport in unincorporated Wicomico County, Maryland, near the city of Salisbury. The airline is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the American Airline ...

, five on

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

, four on National Airlines and two on Capital Airlines. In the mid-1970s

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

scheduled a daily round trip between Richmond and Los Angeles ( LAX) with a Douglas DC-8-61 via Washington–Dulles.http://www.departedflights.com, April 15, 1975 Official Airline Guide The DC-8-61 was most likely the largest passenger airliner ever scheduled to the airport. United was also flying

Boeing 727-200 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpo ...

s and

Boeing 737-200 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two u ...

s to the airport, including nonstop flights to Washington–National in addition to Dulles. Other airlines at Richmond in 1975 included Eastern Air Lines operating

Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpo ...

s and McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s with nonstops from

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, New York–JFK, New York–LaGuardia and

Raleigh/Durham The Research Triangle, or simply The Triangle, are both common nicknames for a metropolitan area in the Piedmont region of North Carolina in the United States, anchored by the cities of Raleigh and Durham and the town of Chapel Hill, home to th ...

; and

operating

s and

NAMC YS-11 The NAMC YS-11 is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (NAMC), a Japanese consortium. It was the only post-war airliner to be wholly designed and manufactured in Japan until the development of t ...

s nonstop from Charleston (WV), Chicago–O'Hare, Huntington, Lynchburg (VA),

Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, Roanoke, Rocky Mount/Wilson, and Washington–National. Altair Airlines, a commuter air carrier, was serving Richmond with

Beechcraft 99 The Beechcraft Model 99 is a civilian aircraft produced by Beechcraft. It is also known as the Beech 99 Airliner and the Commuter 99. The 99 is a twin-engine, unpressurized, 15 to 17 passenger seat turboprop aircraft, derived from the earlier Be ...

s nonstop from

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

and Wilmington, DE. The February 15, 1985 OAG listed five airlines serving Richmond with jet aircraft including

, Eastern Air Lines,

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

and

USAir US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon b ...

.http://www.departedflights.com, Feb. 15, 1985 Official Airline Guide Delta was operating

s and McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s nonstop from

; Eastern was operating Boeing 727-100s, McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s and

McDonnell Douglas DC-9-50 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas. Aft ...

s nonstop from

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

Greensboro Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

, New York–JFK and New York–LaGuardia; Piedmont was operating

s and

Fokker F28 Fellowship The Fokker F28 Fellowship is a twin-engined, short-range jet airliner designed and built by Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. Following the Fokker F27 Friendship, an early and commercially successful turboprop-powered regional airliner, Fokk ...

s nonstop from

, Chicago–O'Hare,

, Kinston (NC),

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, New York–LaGuardia,

and

, United was operating Boeing 727-100 and

nonstop from

, Chicago–O'Hare and

, and USAir was operating BAC One-Elevens and McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s nonstop from

and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. Four commuter and regional airlines were at Richmond, including Air Virginia which was operating a hub at the airport flying

Swearingen Metroliner The Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner (previously the Swearingen Metro and later Fairchild Aerospace Metro) is a 19-seat, pressurized, twin-turboprop airliner first produced by Swearingen Aircraft and later by Fairchild Aircraft at a plant in San ...

s nonstop from

, Charlottesville (VA), Lynchburg (VA), New Bern (NC),

, New York–LaGuardia, Newark,

, Roanoke, and Washington–National;

Delta Connection Delta Connection is a regional airline brand name for Delta Air Lines, under which a number of individually owned regional airlines primarily operate short- and medium-haul routes. Mainline major air carriers often use regional airlines to ope ...

operated by Comair with nonstop

Saab 340 The Saab 340 is a Swedish twin-engine turboprop aircraft designed and initially produced by Saab AB and Fairchild Aircraft. It is designed to seat 30-36 passengers and, as of July 2018, there were 240 operational aircraft used by 34 different o ...

s and Swearingen Metroliners operated on a code sharing basis for Delta from Roanoke; Piedmont Regional Airlines operating

, de Havilland Canada DHC-7 Dash 7 and

Short 330 The Short 330 (also SD3-30) is a small turboprop transport aircraft produced by Short Brothers. It seats up to 30 people and was relatively inexpensive and had low maintenance costs at the time of its introduction in 1976. The 330 was based on ...

turboprops with nonstop service flown on a code sharing basis for Piedmont from

and Roanoke; and Wheeler Airlines operating Beechcraft 99 turboprops nonstop from Danville (VA),

, Washington–National and Wilmington (DE). By 1986 Wheeler Airlines had a small hub at the airport and had added nonstop flights from Charleston (WV) and Parkersburg (WV).

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Statistics

Top domestic routes

Airline market share

In 2017, the airport served 3,657,479 passengers, an all-time record for the airport, breaking its previous record of 3,634,544 in 2007. 2017 was also the airport's fifth consecutive year of growth and experienced a passenger traffic increase of 2.8% over passenger traffic reported in 2016. However, with the advent of the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

pandemic, RIC saw a 91.6 percent decrease in total passenger traffic with 33,125 passengers in May 2020, compared to 392,263 in May 2019 (a record month when reported). Though, RIC has largely recovered most of the passenger traffic, with a 77.2% recovery of passenger numbers from pre-pandemic numbers. RIC is the third-busiest airport in Virginia, after Washington Dulles and Ronald Reagan Washington. Richmond International has 75 based aircraft: 21 single-engine, 21 multi-engine, and 33 jets.

Accidents and incidents

*On May 16, 1946, a

Douglas C-47 The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (Royal Air Force, RAF, Royal Australian Air Force, RAAF, Royal Canadian Air Force, RCAF, Royal New Zealand Air Force, RNZAF, and South African Air Force, SAAF designation) is a airlift, military transport ai ...

operated by Viking Air Transport crashed 6.3 miles south of Richmond-Byrd Field due to engine issues. All 27 on board were killed. *On July 19, 1951:

Eastern Airlines Eastern Air Lines, also colloquially known as Eastern, was a major United States airline from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida. Ea ...

Flight 601 bound from Newark to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

suffered severe buffeting after an access door opened in flight over Lynchburg, Virginia and the crew decided to divert to Richmond. A flapless wheels-up landing was made a few miles short of the runway at Curles Neck Farm because the crew feared that the aircraft would disintegrate before they could get to the airport to attempt an emergency landing. There were no fatalities. *On November 8, 1961: Imperial Airlines Flight 201/8 was destroyed when it crashed and burned following an attempted emergency landing at the airport, all 74 passengers, and three of the five crew members died. *On July 16, 1964: An

DC-7B N809D with 76 occupants bound from New York touched down short of Runway 15, suffered a right main gear collapse and slid for 4752 feet. There were no injuries, but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. *On May 6, 1980, a Gates Learjet 23, N866JS, rolled inverted landing on Runway 33. The aircraft crashed adjacent to the runway at 03:12 and burst into flame. Both pilots were killed. *On June 9, 1996, Eastwind Airlines Flight 517 from

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784. Richmond International Airport serves as an Aviation Support Facility for the

224th Aviation Regiment The 224th Aviation Regiment is an aviation regiment of the U.S. Army National Guard. History The 224th Aviation was constituted on 1 October 1987 in the Maryland and Virginia Army National Guards as a parent regiment under the United States A ...

. The Army National Guard currently has 25 helicopters including 18 UH-60's, 3 HH-60's, and 4 UH-72's based at the facility. The facility also has 1

C-12 Huron The Beechcraft C-12 Huron is the military designation for a series of twin-engine turboprop aircraft based on the Beechcraft Super King Air and Beechcraft 1900. C-12 variants are used by the United States Air Force, United States Army, United ...

which serves a cargo/passenger transport role.

Virginia Air National Guard

Until October 2007, the

192d Fighter Wing The 192nd Wing (192 WG), also referred to as the 192D Wing, is a unit of the Virginia Air National Guard and the United States Air Force, stationed at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia. If activated to federal service, the 192 WG is gained by A ...

(192 FW), an Air Combat Command (ACC)-gained unit of the Virginia Air National Guard, maintained an Air National Guard station, operating F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft from the airport. In late 2007, pursuant to BRAC 2005 action, the 192 FW relinquished its F-16C and F-16D aircraft and moved to

Langley AFB Langley Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Hampton, Virginia, adjacent to Newport News. It was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the entry of the United States into World War I in April 1 ...

(now

Joint Base Langley-Eustis A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw ...

), to integrate with the Regular Air Force as an associate unit to the

1st Fighter Wing The 1st Fighter Wing (1 FW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Fifteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Langley Air Force Base, VA. where it is a tenant unit, being supported by the 633d Air Base Wing. Its 1 ...

(1 FW) flying the

F-22 Raptor The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is an American single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). As the result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, th ...

References

External links

Richmond International Airport
official website
Richmond Times-Dispatch: RIA ExpansionStyle Weekly Architectural ReviewGresham Smith & Partners, ArchitectsopenNav: RIC / KRIC charts
* * {{authority control 1927 establishments in Virginia Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Virginia Airports in Virginia Buildings and structures in Henrico County, Virginia Transportation in Henrico County, Virginia Transportation in Richmond, Virginia Foreign trade zones of the United States Airports established in 1927

Overview

History

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Statistics

Top domestic routes

Airline market share

Accidents and incidents

Virginia Air National Guard

See also

References

External links