Richmond International Airport

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article has been nominated to be checked for its neutrality.
Discussion of this nomination can be found on the talk page.

Richmond International Airport
IATA: RIC - ICAO: KRIC
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Capital Region Airport Commission
Serves		Richmond, Virginia
Elevation AMSL		167 ft (50.9 m)
Coordinates		37°30′18.6″N, 77°19′10.8″W
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
16/34	9,003	2,744	Asphalt
2/20	6,607	2,014	Asphalt
7/25	5,326	1,623	Asphalt

Richmond International Airport (IATA: RIC, ICAO: KRIC) is a 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. Located seven miles southeast of Richmond, the capital of Virginia, and within an hour drive of Williamsburg and a two hour drive from Washington, D.C., the Blue Ridge Mountains, and Virginia Beach, Richmond International Airport is centrally located to many tourist destinations in Virginia.

Richmond International Airport (RIC) is in the final phase of a comprehensive capital improvement program. At its completion, expected in the second quarter of 2007, passengers will find a new two-level terminal featuring upper level departures and lower level arrivals areas, spacious ticketing and baggage claim halls, all new restaurants and retail stores, and widened and improved security checkpoint portals.

1 Overview
2 History
3 Construction
4 Airport Statistics
5 Airlines
- 5.1 Concourse A
- 5.2 Concourse B
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Overview

Eight air carriers currently serve Richmond International Airport with non-stop flights to 20 destinations and connecting flights to destinations worldwide. Over 2.9 million passengers used Richmond International Airport in 2005 and that number continues to grow, as does the amount of air service provided.

To help accommodate the current and proposed increase in passengers and air service, Richmond International Airport has embarked on a major expansion program. To date, expansion efforts at Richmond International Airport have increased the total number of gates, increased parking spaces to 8,000 and created a new terminal roadway and air traffic control tower. Upcoming projects at the Richmond International Airport include the start of construction on the new terminal building featuring 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 is set for completion 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 s.f. of warehouse/office space and 1,000,000 s.f. of apron space. The entire airport is designated a Foreign Trade Zone.

RIC Route Map

Richmond International Airport’s (RIC) growth is closely linked to central Virginia’s prosperity and economic future. RIC has one of the fastest growing air cargo facilities in the nation, with over one million square feet of cargo apron and 142,000 square feet of air cargo warehouse space with direct apron access. 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.

Complemented by central Virginia’s rail and highway systems, RIC’s cargo operations serve as an efficient transportation alternative. With increasing [globalization] of the world’s enterprises, both large and small, timely air cargo service has become more critical. “Just-in-time” manufacturers benefit from RIC’s geographic position in the heart of the “Golden Crescent” which stretches from Baltimore to Norfolk, allowing for timely overseas receiving and shipping.

With the availability of state-of-the-art warehouse-to-customer shipping techniques, now in use all over the world, finished goods can be shipped via RIC within hours of leaving the factory. This translates into more efficient manufacturing, lower costs, and improved expansion capabilities for area companies.

[edit] 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 visited 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.

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.

[edit] Construction

The final piece of Richmond International Airport's decade-long expansion was put in place with the approval of $46.8 million to build a two-level terminal.

"This might be the single biggest financing the airport has done," said Beverley "Booty" Armstrong, a longtime member of the Capital Region Airport Commission. The 14-member group -- which represents Richmond and the counties of Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico -- unanimously approved the building and a related financing plan. The new terminal, slated for completion in spring 2007, will be erected in the vacant area that was the front door to the airport building until last year. Most of the money for the project will come from a recent increase in the airport's surcharge on tickets.

The old terminal entrance closed last fall, when Richmond International opened a new ground-level covered roadway. The new terminal will provide more convenient entrance and exit routes on upper- and lower-level roadways.Passengers catching flights will use the upper-level entrance and second-floor ticket counters and concourses.Newly arrived passengers will go downstairs to baggage carousels, outside to be picked up at the ground-level entrance or out to parking garages. Taxis and shuttles will be available along the lower roadway.

New Concourse B

The commission accepted the low bid for the project from Hunt Construction Group Inc. of Indianapolis. The bulk of the new construction -- about $30 million -- will be paid for with tax-exempt, 30-year bonds that go on sale in April. Most of the debt on the bond issue will be covered by a recent increase in the airport's ticket surcharge. On Jan. 1, the ticket fee known as a passenger-facility charge -- increased by $1.50 per ticket to $4.50. The rest of the construction money will come from federal, state and airport sources, including revenue from parking and concessions.

In all, the airport is budgeting $98 million to complete the work in and around the terminal.

At times, the projects have tried the patience of travelers trying to figure out the latest road signs at Richmond International. According to airport documents, the construction projects started in 1995 under the guidance of former Executive Director David Blackshear. Some landmarks will start tumbling down this spring, including the original air traffic control tower at Byrd Airport that dates to the early 1950s.

Passengers will see different parts of the airport being shifted as the first floor is gutted for a baggage-makeup area for the airlines.

[edit] Airport Statistics

In 2005 the airport served over 2.9 million passengers which is a record number of passengers for the airport and represents an impressive 16% increase over 2004 figures. This makes RIC the fourth-busiest airport in Virginia (after Washington Dulles, Washington Reagan National, and Norfolk International Airports, respectively).

In March 2005, Delta Air Lines was the current local market-share leader, with 29.7 % of the total, followed by US Airways at 29.1 %. The third-place airline, American, had 14.5 % of the Richmond market. American had a dramatic climb from the prior year -- it posted a 45.7 % increase. Airport spokesman Troy Bell said American added nonstop service to St. Louis late in 2004, creating a new market.

American also has been battling United Airlines for a bigger chunk of the Chicago market, Bell said. United appears to have gotten the worse of some of that competition -- its March passenger count here declined by nearly 5 %. United occupies fourth place in the local standings, with a 10.35 % share, followed by Northwest (7.56 %) and Continental (7.15 %).