RIC Sets New April Passenger Traffic Record

For the seventh consecutive month, Richmond International Airport (RIC) reports a new monthly record as the 340,590 travelers transiting the facility in April 2018 topped the previous mark of 300,491 set in April 2015.

“Thanks to traveler support and airline confidence in the market, we continue to report substantial passenger traffic increases at Richmond International Airport,” said Capital Region Airport Commission president and CEO Jon E. Mathiasen, AAE. “April activity benefitted from new service, a widespread uptick in seat supply by incumbent airlines, a noticeable bump for the NASCAR week at Richmond Raceway, and strong sports bookings by Richmond Region Tourism.”

Passenger Traffic

For April 2018, RIC passenger counts rose 15.1 percent compared to the same period a year ago. Delta was RIC’s market share leader with 34.5 percent of all passenger traffic, followed by American and United. In terms of year-over-year growth, four air carriers reported growth during the month, including Delta (+18.6 percent), JetBlue (+16.5 percent), United (+9.7 percent), and American (+4.8 percent).

For the first ten months of FY2018, passenger traffic is up 5.0 percent.

Cargo

Total cargo, measured as a sum of freight and mail, increased 0.6 percent in April over the same period last year to 10.5 million pounds.

Operations

Likewise, aircraft operations saw a 9.6 percent increase during the month, with military (+20.4 percent), air carrier (+13.6 percent), general aviation (+9.9 percent), and air taxi (+1.1 percent) operations all reporting year-over-year growth. For fiscal year 2018, aircraft operations are up 6.0 percent.