Richmond International Airport
Richmond International Airport | |||||||||||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||||||||||
Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||||||
Operator | Capital Region Airport Commission | ||||||||||||||||||
Serves | Richmond, Virginia | ||||||||||||||||||
Location | Sandston, Virginia | ||||||||||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 167 ft / 50.9 m | ||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 37°30′18″N 077°19′10″W / 37.50500°N 77.31944°W | ||||||||||||||||||
Website | www.flyrichmond.com | ||||||||||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||||||||||
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Statistics (2009, 2010) | |||||||||||||||||||
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Richmond International Airport (IATA: RIC, ICAO: KRIC, FAA LID: RIC) is a joint civil-military public airport located in Sandston, Virginia, an unincorporated community within Henrico County which is about 5 miles (8 km) east of Richmond.
Richmond International Airport is the busiest airport in central Virginia. The airport is located seven miles (11 km) southeast of Richmond, Virginia's capital.
Overview
Eight air carriers currently serve Richmond International Airport with non-stop flights to 21 destinations and connecting flights to destinations worldwide. A record 3.63 million passengers used Richmond International Airport in 2007 with growth expected to continue. In January 2012, Southwest has said they will soon start flights to Richmond.
To help accommodate the current and proposed increase in passengers and air service, Richmond International Airport has embarked on a major expansion program. The program has increased the total number of gates, increased parking spaces to 8,000, and created a new terminal roadway and air traffic control tower. It 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 the security check points. Construction on the new two-level terminal was completed in spring 2007.
Richmond International Airport also experienced a dramatic increase in cargo activities over the past 10 years. In 2004, Richmond International Airport handled over 114 million pounds of cargo. Cargo services offered at Richmond International Airport include over 100,000 square feet (10,000 m2) of warehouse/office space and 1,000,000 square feet (100,000 m2) of apron space. The entire airport is designated a Foreign Trade Zone. Because of its central location on the Eastern Seaboard, cargo transit via RIC is on the rise. Goods shipped out of the metropolitan Richmond area can reach 50 % of the U.S. population within 24 hours.
History
The airport was dedicated as Richard Evelyn Byrd Flying Field in 1927 in honor of aviator Richard E. Byrd, brother of Governor of Virginia Harry F. Byrd. Charles Lindbergh attended the dedication ceremony. Although the facility was located in Henrico County, Richmond Mayor John Fulmer Bright was instrumental in the creation of Byrd Field, which was initially owned by the City of Richmond.
The current president and CEO of Richmond International is Jon Mathiasen. It is currently owned and operated by the Capital Region Airport Commission, a state-created governmental agency overseen by representatives of Chesterfield, Hanover, and Henrico Counties and the City of Richmond.
Airport statistics
In 2007, the airport served 3,634,544 passengers, which is a record number of passengers for the airport, representing a 10.3% increase over 2006 figures,[3] and lags about 80,000 passengers behind the next-busiest airport in the state, Norfolk International. This makes RIC the fourth-busiest airport in Virginia (after Washington Dulles, Washington Reagan National, and Norfolk, respectively).
In May 2011, RIC had a passenger enplanement of 287,643. Delta is the largest carrier, serving 30.3% of the passengers, while US Airways is close behind at 22.4%. American serves 12.1%, while United and AirTran serve 9.8% each. Continental serves 7.2%, with JetBlue close behind at 6.6%. Air Canada serves .4% of the RIC passengers.[4]
In 2008 Richmond International's total enplaned passengers totaled 1,733,668, a decrease from 2007. In 2009 RIC's total enplanements was 1,649,248.[5]
Richmond International has a total of 73 based aircraft. 21 of these are single-engine, another 21 are multi-engine and 31 are jets.[6]
Airlines and destinations
Traffic and statistics
Rank | Airport | Passengers | Carriers |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Atlanta, Georgia | 2,000,000 | AirTran, Delta |
2 | Charlotte, North Carolina | 1,500,000 | US Airways |
3 | Chicago (O'Hare), Illinois | 147,000 | American, United |
4 | Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas | 116,000 | American |
5 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 82,000 | US Airways |
6 | Boston, Massachusetts | 81,000 | JetBlue, US Airways |
7 | Detroit, Michigan | 62,000 | Delta |
8 | Orlando, Florida | 62,000 | AirTran, JetBlue |
9 | New York (LaGuardia), New York | 61,000 | Delta, US Airways |
10 | Washington DC (Dulles), Virginia | 53,000 | United |
Accidents and incidents
- In 1996, Eastwind Airlines Flight 517 from Trenton experienced loss of rudder control while on approach to Richmond, however rudder control was regained shortly after and the aircraft landed normally.[8] There was one minor injury.
- In 2011, a private twin engine Piper Navajo crashed after take off. There was only one person in the plane at the time of the crash.[9] The pilot suffered burns and was immediately taken to the hospital.
Virginia Air National Guard
Up until October 2007, the 192d Fighter Wing (192 FW), an Air Combat Command (ACC)-gained unit of the Virginia Air National Guard, maintaned an Air National Guard Station and operated 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, relocated to Langley AFB (now Joint Base Langley-Eustis), and integrated with the Regular Air Force as an associate unit to the 1st Fighter Wing (1 FW) flying the F-22 Raptor. The former Richmond International Airport Air National Guard Station property was transferred to the Department of the Army in support of Army Reserve and Virginia Army National Guard activities.[10]
See also
References
- ^ FAA Airport Form 5010 for RIC PDF, effective 2011-06-30
- ^ 2010 North American final rankings
- ^ Dunham, Linda (2008-01-30). "Richmond airport's growth flying high". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
- ^ Bacqué, Peter (29 June 2011). "Richmond airport passenger traffic down in May". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
- ^ faa,[1], Passenger Boarding (Enplanement) and All-Cargo Data for U.S. Airports.
- ^ airportiq5010
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
RIC Airline statistics
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Aircraft accident Boeing 737-2H5 N221US Richmond, VA". Aviation Safety Network. 1996-06-09.
- ^ http://www.wric.com/Global/story.asp?S=14427877
- ^ http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/richmond-iap.htm
External links
- Richmond International Airport, official web site
- Richmond Times-Dispatch: RIA Expansion
- Style Weekly Architectural Review
- Gresham Smith & Partners, Architects
- openNav: RIC / KRIC charts
- FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective June 13, 2024
- FAA Terminal Procedures for RIC, effective June 13, 2024
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KRIC
- ASN accident history for RIC
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KRIC
- FAA current RIC delay information
- 1927 establishments in the United States
- Airports in Virginia
- Transportation in Henrico County, Virginia
- Transportation in Richmond, Virginia
- USAAF First Air Force Tactical Airfields
- Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Virginia
- USAAF First Air Force Group Training Stations
- Buildings and structures in Henrico County, Virginia