Statistics show July was RIC’s busiest month ever

July was the busiest month ever at Richmond International Airport, with more than 467,000 passengers traveling to and from the facility, according to monthly statistics released recently by the airport.

July travel was up by 6.3% from the same month last year, according to the data.
During the same month, the airport also witnessed a major jump in the total poundage of mail entering and leaving – 333% more than July 2024.

And during the first seven months of this year, RIC had witnessed more than 10.95 million pounds of mail traveling through the airport – a jump of 2,110.2% from the same seven months in 2024, when just about 495,000 pounds of mail arrived or departed.

“All of our cargo operators are increasing their service, which is good for the region, not necessarily business for the airport,” RIC Chief Growth Officer Martin Rubinstein said.

Airport officials connected that growth to UPS picking up a United States Postal Service contract.

Relatedly, at a Sept. 16 meeting of the Capital Region Airport Commission’s finance and audit committee, members endorsed plans for UPS to lease an additional 63,650 square feet of cargo apron area at the airport for about $15,600 annually, allowing it more room to operate.

“UPS will have a space on a full-time basis for their plane,” Rubenstein said.

UPS already leases more than 127,000 square feet of cargo apron area at the airport, along with nearly 88,000 square feet of land for and air cargo handling and office facilities, and 30,500 square feet for short-term parking and empty air cargo container storage.

The full Capital Region Airport Committee will consider the proposal during its Sept. 30 meeting.

Other July 2025 statistics showed that air carriers at RIC are up 20%.

“Airlines tend to vote with their seats,” airport spokesman Troy Bell said. “If they like what's happening in your market, they add more. If they don't, they take some away. And we're seeing a lot of seats added. In fact, that's been the case for most of the summer. And it continues through the of 2025.”

Bell cited a recent report by the Airlines for America industry group that showed that among mid-sized airports, RIC on a percentage basis is the second-fastest growing airport, at least in terms of seats being added to the market.

Cargo also is up by 20% so far during the current fiscal year (which began July 1) when compared with the previous fiscal year during the same timeframe.

At the committee’s meeting, those positive developments led to short discussions about ways to help the public see the possibilities and importance of the airport.

A session devoted to robustly developing the CRAC Foundation was the focus of a meeting that followed the finance and audit committee. The purpose of that foundation, officials said, would be education of students, better supporting the airport workforce, improving passenger experiences and support for stranded travelers.

At its meeting this week, the committee also endorsed several other proposals, each of which also will advance for consideration by the full CRAC Sept. 30.

The committee voted in support of a non-signatory airline operating agreement with Frontier Airlines, which has announced it will start nonstop service between Richmond International Airport and Atlanta and Denver starting Oct. 17.

The carrier continuously monitors market demand for opportunities to expand its operations, Frontier spokesperson Rob Harris wrote in an email.

“[We] are very optimistic that our low-cost flights will be a welcomed addition by Richmond-area consumers,” Harris said. “We will evaluate consumer response to the new service as we consider future growth opportunities.”

Billed as an ultra-low fare carrier, the routes to Richmond are part of 15 new destinations Frontier is launching.

When Frontier starts those itineraries, RIC will have two airlines offering routes to Atlanta and three airlines going to Denver.

“That’s a lot of competition on a couple of big routes,” Bell said.

“It means choices for consumers, and generally with competition, you start to see some favorable pricing from a consumer perspective as well,” he said.

Rubinstein said the increased flight routes out of the airport demonstrates RIC’s strength and bolsters its greater aspirations for a Western Europe route. He and RIC president and CEO Perry Miller are working to earn a strong base of support from business and governmental leaders as well as the community for international flights by developing a risk mitigation fund.

Such a fund essentially provides a level of financial insurance to reduce the risk an international carrier might incur by launching service from a new airport.

The new Frontier service is an example of how that plan can work, Rubenstein said. Several years ago, the airport didn’t have any direct flights to Denver, but it secured a minimum revenue guarantee, as it hopes to do for European service, and that helped it land the service.

“Soon enough, we had two and now three airlines [serving Denver], because the route proved profitable,” Rubinstein said.

In addition, the committee endorsed a Foreign-Trade Zone usage-driven application submitted by QubicaAMF, the 110-year-old Hanover-based bowling company that has, according to its website, installed more than 10,000 bowling centers in more than 95 countries. The agreement calls for a 35.7-acre industrial zoned site at QubicaAMF’s Mechanicsville property where it has a 354,000-square-foot warehouse. The annual fee for the FTZ status is $12,000, according to CRAC documents.

A benefit of being in RIC’s FTZ is that foreign merchandise may be admitted without payment of customs duties or government excise taxes. Merchandise is not subject to state, local or inventory taxes.

Hanover is part of FTZ service area. As the grantee for Foreign-Trade Zone No. 207, the CRAC can work with companies within a certain geographic zone to apply for a subzone. Most of the businesses RIC has worked with over the years have been off-site. 

According to the International Trade Administration, other businesses in RIC’s FTZ are the LEGO Manufacturing in Chesterfield, Kaiser Aluminum Fabricated Products in Richmond, voestalpine High Performance Metals in South Boston, A. Wimpfheimer & Bro. textile finishing in Blackstone and Hewlett-Packard in Richmond.

QubicaAMF also produces more tech-focused approaches to bowling balls and recreation, resulting in $247 million in revenue according to Zoominfo.

Additionally, the committee endorsed a lease extension with Martinair charter company through 2031, with two additional five-year renew options, which, if exercised, would extend the term through January 2041. The company offers chartered flights to and from RIC, as well as aircraft maintenance and management.

Dina Weinstein is the Citizen’s community vitality reporter and a Report for America corps member, covering housing, health and transportation. Support her work and articles like this one by making a contribution to the Citizen.