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Tag: Perry J. Miller

Richmond airport sets new travel record

Just two months after shattering its monthly passenger record, Richmond International Airport has done it again.

The Capital Region Airport Commission on Wednesday announced that the airport counted 439,951 passengers for July, soaring past a record set in May when the airport counted 431,416 passengers.

By comparison, the airport counted 386,931 passengers in July 2019. A year later, as travel plunged during the COVID-19 pandemic, that number dropped to 117,673, according to airport data.

“While we’re certainly pleased with the July results, we’re not surprised,” Capital Region Airport Commission President and CEO Perry J. Miller said in a statement. “The Richmond region has seen tremendous growth with in-migration, several significant economic development announcements and an array of attractive new route offerings and enhancements by airlines operating from RIC.”

According to the the airport commission, three airlines — Breeze Airways, Delta Air Lines and Spirit Airlines — saw year-over-year traffic increases exceeding 25%. For the calendar year to date, passenger traffic has increased 19.2% over 2022. In addition, Breeze will also begin to offer new winter flights from Richmond to Fort Myers, Florida, beginning Nov. 15. The flights will operate twice a week and reconnect Richmond to Fort Meyers for the first time since 2005.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S airlines carried 71.4 million domestic passengers and 10.4 million international passengers on U.S. flights in May, an all-time high when not adjusting for seasonality, which takes into account number of weekend days, the timing of holidays and seasonal activity.

Richmond airport CEO to chair national board

Perry J. Miller, president and CEO of the Capital Region Airport Commission, which includes Richmond International Airport, has been elected 2023-24 chair of the American Association of Airport Executives, the world’s largest professional organization representing individuals who work at public-use commercial and general aviation airports.

Miller, who started his term Monday, succeeds Mark Gale, CEO and director of aviation at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Named Virginia Airport Manager of the Year in 2021 by the state aviation board, Miller previously served as vice chair of AAAE and president of its Southeast chapter.

Miller has led the Capital Region Airport Commission since 2019. In June, the airport reported April passenger traffic of 393,355, topping the previous April record of 372,025 set in 2019 and marking the second-highest passenger count ever at the airport. For the first 10 months of the fiscal year, passenger traffic increased 13.7%, year-over-year, a gain of more than 425,000 passengers.

Based in Alexandria, the AAAE represents 875 airports.