Air Travel is Bouncing Back at Richmond International Airport

The number of passengers using the airport soared in April compared with a year ago when the airport experienced dramatic declines in travel caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The airport handled 209,416 passengers last month compared to 13,550 passengers a year ago in April — an increase of 1,444%, the Capital Region Airport Commission reported recently.

Last month’s figures also were an improvement over the previous month when the airport handled 170,370 passengers.

U.S. airports expect a big surge in passengers for the Memorial Day weekend. Traffic during the Memorial Day weekend could be hectic as more Americans are slated to travel than a year ago, according to a new survey by AAA.

U.S. air travel rebounded Sunday to the highest level of the pandemic era as the Transportation Security Administration continues to bolster staffing for the busy summer travel season set to kick off this weekend, federal aviation security officials said.

The 1.8 million passengers screened at TSA checkpoints Sunday was the highest daily number since the coronavirus pandemic began. Airport officials expect traffic to continue to increase as more people are vaccinated and as airlines add service from Richmond during the summer months.