RIC sets new February record for travelers

Richmond International Airport continued its record-setting trend by recording its busiest February ever, surpassing the previous record from 2008. The airport served 252,520 passengers in February, surpassing the 251,968 it served in the same month a decade ago.

It was the fifth consecutive month that RIC set a record for the number of travelers.

“Richmond International Airport is progressively moving forward with record-setting passenger numbers, increased air carrier activity, and steadily-growing cargo volume,” said Capital Region Airport Commission president and CEO Jon E. Mathiasen, AAE. “Beyond the major performance categories, RIC is proceeding with new cargo support facilities on its east side, heating and cooling enhancements to support the new six-gate Concourse A extension, checkpoint expansion for Concourse B, and upcoming rental car facility improvements, all while meeting operating and capital budget plans.”

Passenger traffic in February rose 5.6 percent from the same levels last February. Delta was RIC’s market share leader with 35.0 percent of all passenger traffic, followed by American and United. In terms of year-over-year growth, JetBlue (up 21 percent), American (up 9.1 percent), and United (up 6.8 percent) realized the strongest gains.

For fiscal year 2018, passenger traffic is up 3.2 percent.

Total cargo, measured as a sum of freight and mail, increased 1.32 percent in February over the same period last year to 10.2 million pounds.