RICKRICMinor

Richmond International Airport

Richmond, United States · North America

A compact two-level Virginia hall with a free downtown bus and $10 economy parking — undone by two separate TSA portals, no lounge, and a checkpoint that closes at 20:00.

Airportist Score

6.9/ 10

Solid

Ease of use8.0
Comfort & amenities7.2
Food & retail6.6
Ground access8.2
Reliability7.0
Lounges2.0

How the score works

An editorial 0–10 score. The overall is exactly the weighted sum of six traveler categories — not a Google rating and not a poll.

25%Ease of use — Wayfinding, security wait, and layout.
20%Comfort & amenities — Seating, Wi-Fi, cleanliness, and quiet.
15%Food & retail — Food and retail quality and variety.
15%Ground access — Transit, taxi, and parking to the city.
15%Reliability — Delays, cancellations, and weather resilience.
10%Lounges — Worth-it density and access quality.

Compare RIC with another airport

Typical security
12 min
editorial average, not live
Fastest to city
15–25 min
Uber / Lyft Ride App Pickup
Cheapest to city
GRTC 7A / 7B
$ · 25–40 min
On time
74%
of departures
Terminals
1
terminal, Concourses A & B
Passengers / year
4.9M

All airports

RICKRICMinor23°C / 73°F

Richmond International Airport

Richmond, United States · North America

A compact two-level Virginia hall with a free downtown bus and $10 economy parking — undone by two separate TSA portals, no lounge, and a checkpoint that closes at 20:00.

Airportist Score

6.9/ 10

Solid

Ease of use8.0
Comfort & amenities7.2
Food & retail6.6
Ground access8.2
Reliability7.0
Lounges2.0

How the score works

An editorial 0–10 score. The overall is exactly the weighted sum of six traveler categories — not a Google rating and not a poll.

25%Ease of use — Wayfinding, security wait, and layout.
20%Comfort & amenities — Seating, Wi-Fi, cleanliness, and quiet.
15%Food & retail — Food and retail quality and variety.
15%Ground access — Transit, taxi, and parking to the city.
15%Reliability — Delays, cancellations, and weather resilience.
10%Lounges — Worth-it density and access quality.

Compare RIC with another airport

5 photos

Landside ticketing hall at Richmond International Airport with RICHMOND lettering on the glass and passengers at the counters.

Curbside approach to the Richmond International Airport terminal, with the arched glass facade and RICHMOND lettering above the roadway.

Aerial view of Richmond International Airport showing the two-level terminal, parking garage, and the A and B concourses on the airfield.

Empty ramp in front of Richmond International Airport gates B14 and B15 with jet bridges at golden hour.

United Airbus A320 parked at a Richmond International Airport jet bridge with a tug in the foreground.

RICGuide

Most important tips

Know before you go

A compact traveler cheat sheet for timing, terminals, food, and disruption checks.

Timing

Be through TSA before 20:00

Official TSA hours are 04:00–20:00 daily. After the checkpoint closes it does not reopen until 04:00.

Official advice is 90 minutes on a quiet day and two hours at peak. Bag-drop cutoffs are still 30–45 minutes. A late inbound does not automatically keep the lanes open — only the airline or TSA on site can confirm an extension.

Checkpoints

Pick A or B before you queue

Concourse A and Concourse B each have their own TSA portal. The sterile sides are not a free walk today.

Official FY27 budget (29 May 2026): the $253.1 million CSSCP will merge the two checkpoints so passengers can move freely between concourses. Enabling work starts late 2026. Until then, the wrong line means reclear. Spirit’s July 2025 A5 move is history — Spirit is gone.

Food

Clear first, then eat on your concourse

Official dining is split: Applebee’s and one Ironclad in the landside atrium; the rest is airside and concourse-specific.

A-side: Cross Grain Brewhouse, Ironclad, The Market on Broad (hours verified 8 Jul 2025). B-side: Cheeburger Cheeburger, Club Level Grill, Ironclad, Sam Adams Celebrates Richmond. Hardywood / Wolfgang Puck / Beet Box / Homegrown were promised “within a year” in June 2025 and are still absent from the official dining page as of 10 Sep 2026.

Lounges

There is no Priority Pass chair

No day-pass lounge, no airline club, no CLEAR. Do not walk looking for The Club RIC.

Sleeping in Airports (26 Mar 2026) and the official directory agree: no pay lounge. The USO (804-236-7234) is for military ID holders, lower level left of the escalators, 08:00–20:00. CSSCP is designed with lounge capacity — it is not open.

Live conditions

Right now at RIC

Security waits and operational status from official feeds, where the airport publishes them.

Honest verdict

Who this airport works for

Best for

Origin-and-destination trips when you already know Concourse A or B
Drivers using the $10 Economy lot or $15 Daily garage
Budget riders on free GRTC 7A/7B from Door #5

Watch out for

Queuing at the wrong concourse checkpoint — sterile sides do not connect yet
Assuming Priority Pass, The Club RIC, CLEAR, or a Capital One lounge exist
Evening flights after the official 20:00 TSA close
Stale Spirit / 22-gate / A1–A8 guides

Airportist Score

Why this score

Overall is the published weighted sum of six categories. No holistic fudge on top.

Ease of use · 25%

Wayfinding, security wait, and layout.

8.0

Comfort & amenities · 20%

Seating, Wi-Fi, cleanliness, and quiet.

7.2

Food & retail · 15%

Food and retail quality and variety.

6.6

Ground access · 15%

Transit, taxi, and parking to the city.

8.2

Reliability · 15%

Delays, cancellations, and weather resilience.

7.0

Lounges · 10%

Worth-it density and access quality.

2.0

Key stats

Editorial reference figures, not live readings.

Annual passengers

4.9M

Terminals

1 terminal, Concourses A & B

On-time departures

74%

Typical security

12 min

Guide quick facts

From the editorial guide for RIC.

Updated Sep 10, 2026

Official CRAC release (29 Jan 2026): 4,922,994 passengers in calendar 2025 (+0.8% vs 2024), about 223 million pounds of cargo, and 108,527 aircraft movements (+5.8%). Third straight annual passenger-and-cargo record. Busiest field in central Virginia; third in the state behind DCA and IAD.
One two-level terminal (upper departures / lower arrivals) with two concourses. Official June 2025 ACFR: 28 passenger gates and 28 loading bridges after the pandemic Concourse A expansion. Live FIDS on 10 Sep 2026 showed A-side pins through A16 and B-side through B14. Third-party maps still saying 22 gates or A1–A8 only are stale.
Operator: Capital Region Airport Commission. Official site https://flyrichmond.com/. Address 1 Richard E. Byrd Terminal Drive, Suite A, Richmond International Airport, VA 23250. ICAO KRIC. AirNav elev 167.5 ft, 6 miles east of Richmond. Two asphalt runways: 16/34 9,003 × 150 and 02/20 6,607 × 150. Phone 804-226-3000; airfield ops 804-226-0001.
Civilian CRAC passenger airport. Virginia Army National Guard 224th Aviation sits on a separate ramp (Wikipedia). The Virginia Air National Guard 192nd Fighter Wing left for Langley in 2007 — do not treat RIC as an airbase page. Do not confuse with CHO (Charlottesville), PHF (Newport News), ORF (Norfolk), or Richmond, California.
Official airlines page (checked 10 Sep 2026): Allegiant, American, Breeze, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest, Sun Country, United. Spirit ceased network-wide on 2 May 2026 (official RIC notice) — ignore older A5 / Concourse A Spirit pins. Official Dec 2025 monthly share: American 28.1%, Delta 25.2%. JetBlue San Juan launched 26 Mar 2026; Bermuda ended Jan 2026; Breeze Cancún starts 8 Jan 2027 (Mon/Fri).
No passenger lounge today. Official CSSCP write-ups treat a lounge as future space, not an open room. Live Priority Pass has The Club at CLT and CHS, not RIC. Aggregator “The Club RIC” / Capital One Hall pins are fiction (Capital One Hall is a Tysons venue). USO on the lower level is military-ID only, 08:00–20:00 daily.

16 official sources

Full guide

Explore the RIC guide

Each section answers one trip question in depth.

Alternatives

Nearby airports

Passenger airports within about 150 km. Scored airports show their Airportist Score so you can weigh a switch.

RICGuide

Most important tips

Know before you go

A compact traveler cheat sheet for timing, terminals, food, and disruption checks.

Timing

Be through TSA before 20:00

Official TSA hours are 04:00–20:00 daily. After the checkpoint closes it does not reopen until 04:00.

Checkpoints

Pick A or B before you queue

Concourse A and Concourse B each have their own TSA portal. The sterile sides are not a free walk today.

Food

Clear first, then eat on your concourse

Official dining is split: Applebee’s and one Ironclad in the landside atrium; the rest is airside and concourse-specific.

Lounges

There is no Priority Pass chair

No day-pass lounge, no airline club, no CLEAR. Do not walk looking for The Club RIC.

Live conditions

Right now at RIC

Security waits and operational status from official feeds, where the airport publishes them.

Security wait times

A current security estimate is not available. Check the official airport site or MyTSA before travel.

MyTSA

Official airport site TSA screening guide

Operational status

Normal operations

No Flighty-reported operational issues for this airport.

Status update: 09:41 EDT

Source: Flighty Airports

Status response Sep 10, 13:42 UTC · Confirm live conditions with official sources before travel.

Honest verdict

Who this airport works for

Best for

Origin-and-destination trips when you already know Concourse A or B
Drivers using the $10 Economy lot or $15 Daily garage
Budget riders on free GRTC 7A/7B from Door #5

Watch out for

Queuing at the wrong concourse checkpoint — sterile sides do not connect yet
Assuming Priority Pass, The Club RIC, CLEAR, or a Capital One lounge exist
Evening flights after the official 20:00 TSA close
Stale Spirit / 22-gate / A1–A8 guides

Airportist Score

Why this score

Overall is the published weighted sum of six categories. No holistic fudge on top.

Ease of use · 25%

Wayfinding, security wait, and layout.

8.0

Comfort & amenities · 20%

Seating, Wi-Fi, cleanliness, and quiet.

7.2

Food & retail · 15%

Food and retail quality and variety.

6.6

Ground access · 15%

Transit, taxi, and parking to the city.

8.2

Reliability · 15%

Delays, cancellations, and weather resilience.

7.0

Lounges · 10%

Worth-it density and access quality.

2.0

Key stats

Editorial reference figures, not live readings.

Annual passengers

4.9M

Terminals

1 terminal, Concourses A & B

On-time departures

74%

Typical security

12 min

Guide quick facts

From the editorial guide for RIC.

Updated Sep 10, 2026

Official CRAC release (29 Jan 2026): 4,922,994 passengers in calendar 2025 (+0.8% vs 2024), about 223 million pounds of cargo, and 108,527 aircraft movements (+5.8%). Third straight annual passenger-and-cargo record. Busiest field in central Virginia; third in the state behind DCA and IAD.
One two-level terminal (upper departures / lower arrivals) with two concourses. Official June 2025 ACFR: 28 passenger gates and 28 loading bridges after the pandemic Concourse A expansion. Live FIDS on 10 Sep 2026 showed A-side pins through A16 and B-side through B14. Third-party maps still saying 22 gates or A1–A8 only are stale.
Operator: Capital Region Airport Commission. Official site https://flyrichmond.com/. Address 1 Richard E. Byrd Terminal Drive, Suite A, Richmond International Airport, VA 23250. ICAO KRIC. AirNav elev 167.5 ft, 6 miles east of Richmond. Two asphalt runways: 16/34 9,003 × 150 and 02/20 6,607 × 150. Phone 804-226-3000; airfield ops 804-226-0001.
Civilian CRAC passenger airport. Virginia Army National Guard 224th Aviation sits on a separate ramp (Wikipedia). The Virginia Air National Guard 192nd Fighter Wing left for Langley in 2007 — do not treat RIC as an airbase page. Do not confuse with CHO (Charlottesville), PHF (Newport News), ORF (Norfolk), or Richmond, California.
Official airlines page (checked 10 Sep 2026): Allegiant, American, Breeze, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest, Sun Country, United. Spirit ceased network-wide on 2 May 2026 (official RIC notice) — ignore older A5 / Concourse A Spirit pins. Official Dec 2025 monthly share: American 28.1%, Delta 25.2%. JetBlue San Juan launched 26 Mar 2026; Bermuda ended Jan 2026; Breeze Cancún starts 8 Jan 2027 (Mon/Fri).
No passenger lounge today. Official CSSCP write-ups treat a lounge as future space, not an open room. Live Priority Pass has The Club at CLT and CHS, not RIC. Aggregator “The Club RIC” / Capital One Hall pins are fiction (Capital One Hall is a Tysons venue). USO on the lower level is military-ID only, 08:00–20:00 daily.

16 official sources

Full guide

Explore the RIC guide

Each section answers one trip question in depth.

Richmond International Airport

Richmond International Airport

Richmond International Airport

Know before you go

Right now at RIC

Who this airport works for

Why this score

Explore the RIC guide

Getting There

Lounges

Traveler Tips

Amenities

Water

Reviews

Nearby airports

Richmond International Airport

Know before you go

Right now at RIC

Who this airport works for

Why this score

Explore the RIC guide

Getting There

Lounges

Traveler Tips

Amenities

Water

Reviews

Nearby airports