Richmond International Airport

Richmond International Airport
IATA: RIC – ICAO: KRIC – FAA LID: RIC RIC Location of the Richmond International Airport
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner/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 / 37.50500; -77.31944
Website	www.flyrichmond.com
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 16/34 9,003 2,744 Asphalt 2/20 6,607 2,014 Asphalt 7/25 5,326 1,623 Asphalt
Statistics (2015)
Aircraft operations 99,067 Based aircraft 75 Passengers 3,688,199
Sources: Federal Aviation Administration[1] and RIC Airport.[2]

Richmond International Airport (IATA: RIC, ICAO: KRIC, FAA LID: RIC) is a joint civil-military public airport, in Sandston, Virginia, an unincorporated community (within Henrico County). The airport is about 7 miles (11 km) southeast of downtown Richmond, the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Richmond International Airport is the busiest airport in central Virginia and the third most frequented in the state, beating Norfolk, Williamsburg, and Charlottesville. It falls after Washington D.C's two airports.

Overview

Six commercial air carriers currently serve RIC, with non-stop flights to 21 destinations, and connecting flights to other countries. An estimated record 3,630,000 passengers used RIC in 2007. In October 2016 RIC reported its 32 straight month of growth, with nearly 330,000 travelers. In January 2012, following its merger with AirTran, Southwest Airlines hinted that they would begin flights to Richmond^[3] and actually began nonstop service to Orlando on Sunday, November 4, 2013.^[4]

To help accommodate the current and proposed increase in passengers and air service, RIC has embarked on a major expansion program. It has increased the number of gates, added parking spaces (to 8,000), 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 renovated two-level terminal was completed in spring 2007, and was designed by Gresham, Smith & Partners.^[5]

In 2004, Richmond International Airport handled over 59,000 tons of cargo. Cargo services offered at the airport include more than 100,000 square feet (10,000 m²) of warehouse/office space and 1,000,000 square feet (100,000 m²) 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 50% of the U.S. population within 24 hours.

History

Byrd Field in 1952

The airport was dedicated as Richard Evelyn Byrd Flying Field in 1927 in honor of aviator Richard E. Byrd, brother of then Gov. Harry F. Byrd. Charles Lindbergh attended the dedication ceremony. Although the facility was 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 the airport is Jon Mathiasen. It is owned and operated by the Capital Region Airport Commission, a Commonwealth-created governmental agency overseen by representatives of Chesterfield, Hanover, and Henrico counties, and the City of Richmond.

A terminal building designed by Marcellus Wright and Son was completed in 1950.^[6] It was expanded from 1968 to 1970, which included the current passenger concourses.^[7]

The April 1957 Official Airline Guide shows 43 weekday departures: 22 on Eastern, 10 Piedmont, 5 American, 4 National, and 2 Capital.

Airport statistics

In 2007, the airport served 3,634,544 passengers, a record for the airport; a 10.3% increase over 2006.^[8] RIC is the third-busiest airport in Virginia, after Washington Dulles and Ronald Reagan Washington.

In October 2016, RIC served 322,267 passengers. Delta was the largest carrier with 35.14%, and United had 15.07% Other carrier were: American (29.67%), Southwest (6.99%), JetBlue (11.46%), Alleigent (3.11%), and Vacation Express (0.10%) ^[9]

Richmond International has 75 based aircraft; 21 are single-engine, 21 multi-engine, and 33 jets.^[10]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Statistics

Top destinations

Accidents and incidents

• In 1951: Eastern Airlines Flight 601 bound from Newark to Miami 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.
• In 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 two of the 5 crewmembers died.
• In 1996, Eastwind Airlines Flight 517 from Trenton, New Jersey, experienced loss of rudder control while on approach to Richmond; however, control was regained shortly after, and the aircraft landed normally.^[12] There was one minor injury.
• In 2011, a private twin engine, Piper Navajo, crashed after take-off. Only the pilot was on board at the time of the crash.^[13] The pilot suffered burns and was immediately taken to a hospital.
• In 2016 an American Airlines Embraer ERJ-145 that departed from the Richmond airport had to make an emergency landing at the Philadelphia airport due to smoke in the cabin.

Virginia Air National Guard

Until October 2007, the 192d Fighter Wing (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 (now Joint Base Langley-Eustis), to integrate 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 U.S. Army Reserve and Virginia Army National Guard activities.^[14]

See also

• Virginia World War II Army Airfields

References

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 November 10, 2016
• FAA Terminal Procedures for RIC, effective November 10, 2016
• Resources for this airport:
  • AirNav airport information for KRIC
  • ASN accident history for RIC
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for KRIC
  • FAA current RIC delay information

USAAF First Air Force in World War II
Airfields	First Air Force Group Training Stations First Air Force Replacement Training Stations First Air Force Tactical Airfields Freeman Army Airfield Godman Army Airfield Selfridge Field
Units	Commands I Bomber Command I Fighter Command I Ground Air Support Command Wings 25th Antisubmarine 50th Troop Carrier 52d Troop Carrier 53d Troop Carrier 60th Troop Carrier 61st Troop Carrier Boston Fighter New York Fighter Norfolk Fighter Philadelphia Fighter Groups Bombardment 2d Bombardment 13th Bombardment 22d Bombardment 34th Bombardment 43d Bombardment 45th Bombardment 301st Bombardment 302d Bombardment 400th Bombardment 402d Bombardment 455th Bombardment 459th Bombardment 460th Bombardment 471st Bombardment Combat Cargo 1st Combat Cargo 2d Combat Cargo 4th Combat Cargo Fighter 8th Fighter 31st Fighter 33d Fighter 52d Fighter 56th Fighter 57th Fighter 58th Fighter 59th Fighter 79th Fighter 80th Fighter 83d Fighter 87th Fighter 324th Fighter 325th Fighter 326th Fighter 327th Fighter 332d Fighter 348th Fighter 352d Fighter 353d Fighter 355th Fighter 356th Fighter 358th Fighter 359th Fighter 361st Fighter 362d Fighter 365th Fighter 366th Fighter 368th Fighter 370th Fighter 371st Fighter 373d Fighter 402d Fighter 413th Fighter 476th Fighter Reconnaissance 26th Reconnaissance 73d Reconnaissance Troop Carrier 10th Troop Carrier 60th Troop Carrier 61st Troop Carrier 62d Troop Carrier 63d Troop Carrier 89th Troop Carrier 313th Troop Carrier 314th Troop Carrier 315th Troop Carrier 316th Troop Carrier 317th Troop Carrier 349th Troop Carrier 375th Troop Carrier 403d Troop Carrier 433d Troop Carrier 434th Troop Carrier 435th Troop Carrier 436th Troop Carrier 437th Troop Carrier 438th Troop Carrier 439th Troop Carrier 440th Troop Carrier 441st Troop Carrier 442d Troop Carrier Other 1st Search Attack 477th Composite Incidents Freeman Field Mutiny
United States Army Air Forces First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth Eleventh Twelfth Thirteenth Fourteenth Fifteenth Twentieth