HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Large crowds of travelers are passing through Richmond International Airport (RIC) ahead of Fourth of July weekend.
Long lines stretched across RIC Friday morning as crowds of people were seen making their way up to the front desk to check in to their flights and check their bags.
“I think today is the busiest day we’ve had so far this year,” said RIC Marketing Director Troy Bell.
Angela Dunham, who was flying to Las Vegas, said she gave herself extra time so her trip to RIC would go smoothly.
“There were lines, but it actually went really, really quickly,” said Dunham. “This is actually my first time here, so I got here super early.”
Leon Benjamin said he flew into RIC from Tulsa on Friday afternoon. He said the flight to get to his connecting flight in Charlotte was delayed.
“Something happened with the equipment or something and we were sitting on the tarmac for about an hour and a half,” said Benjamin. “I saw people running. I saw so many people dashing through the airport in Charlotte, so there was traffic at the airport.”
In Virginia, AAA is expecting more than 1.3 million people to travel for the holiday, which is a potential record high for the state. While the vast majority or travelers, 1.1 million, will be traveling by car, AAA forecasts around 107,139 Virginians will fly.
Travelers looking to fly out of RIC this holiday weekend are encouraged to plan ahead and arrive at the airport extra early. Upcoming flights out of or into RIC can be tracked here.
