History of Richmond International Airport

1862 (Civil War Era)
Both Union and Confederate aeronauts used tethered balloons for reconnaissance and artillery spotting from the area that is now the Richmond International Airport.

1927
Dedicated on October 15, 1927, the airport was named after the Virginia explorer-aviator, Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd. Colonel Charles Lindbergh and his famous aircraft The Spirit of St. Louis was present as the airport's first official visitor.

1932
Eastern Airlines began the first regularly scheduled passenger service at Byrd Field.

1942 (World War II Era)
The airport was used as an Army Air Corps base. During this period, the acreage and runway infrastructure for RIC were substantially expanded.

1968
Airport expansion of the terminal, ramp area, the runways, taxiways and parking lots cost $2.8 million. Four scheduled airlines served the airport: Eastern, National, Piedmont and United.

1973
The first jumbo jet (DC-10) jetliner lands at Richard E. Byrd Airport and boards 345 Virginia passengers bound for an American Legion convention.

1975
The Capital Region Airport Commission was created pursuant to Chapter 537 of the 1975 Acts of Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

1984
The Airport was renamed the Richmond International Airport.

1985
Richmond International Airport became the world's first public airport to operate an advanced microwave landing system.

1995
The terminal underwent a $5 million concourse expansion at Concourse A increasing gates to 14, and adding 8,700 square feet to the existing baggage claim area.

2002
An expansion of Concourse B is completed representing a 50 percent gate increase. The airport completed several more projects, including the addition of 1,300 public parking spaces in economy lot A, the relocation of Security Checkpoints, and an extension of airport taxiways.

2004
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) dedicated a new Air Traffic Control Tower at RIC. The event was attended by Sen. John Warner, Congressmen Bobby Scott and Randy Forbes, FAA Eastern Region Administrator Arlene Feldman, Deputy Secretary of Transportation Ralph Davis (Commonwealth of Virginia), members of the Capital Region Airport Commission and other dignitaries.

2005-2006
In a nine-month span, Richmond International Airport welcomed the arrival of AirTran Airways and JetBlue Airways to Virginia's Capital Region, much to the relief of travelers who had long cited non-competitive airfares as the area's highest-ranking business concern.

2007
The airport completed construction of a multi-million dollar renovation process, expanding the terminal building by 155,000 square feet - quadrupling the amount of useable floor space in the ticketing hall and baggage claim areas, doubling the space for security checkpoints and doubling the outdoor curbside loading/unloading zones to help ease vehicle congestion for arrivals and departures.