Between eight major carriers and their respective regional affiliates, approximately 180 flights are offered every day. This impressive statistic is only the beginning: let’s take a closer look at the inner-workings of the Richmond International Airport (RIC). Outside, there are around 11,000 parking spaces available for travelers in the form of parking garages and surface/economy lots. The average rate of occupancy for any given day is estimated to be between 55 and 65 percent.

Moving inside the airport, a staff of 2,500 is responsible for overseeing a sea of around 15,000 people on a day-to-day basis. Of those 15,000 people, approximately 9,100 are passengers, while the others are deemed “meeters and greeters.” All those passengers come with some baggage; approximately 232,000 pounds of baggage, in fact. Talk about a busy day!

The Richmond International Airport receives and dispatches different types of aircraft operations and was responsible for handling 103,810 flights in 2010. The breakdown was as follows: 26,538 air carrier, 42,236 air taxi, 26,785 general aviation and 8,251 military operations. While all this hustle and bustle certainly sounds stressful, the airport keeps the atmosphere pleasant and bright by displaying exhibitions by Virginia artists in the terminals, thanks to RIC’s partnership with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The Richmond International Airport also keeps its passengers happy by offering free WiFi and recharge stations at every gate. RIC was a free WiFi pioneer among United States airports and has been offering this convenient service since April 2003. Services like these make RIC a popular airport, which is reflected in its ranking as the most-followed North American airport on Twitter.

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