Richmond, VA

What the Data Says About RIC

Richmond, VA in Richmond, Virginia handled 203,348 flights in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics dataset between 2020 and 2025, posting a 81.6% on-time departure rate. Of those flights, 37,432 experienced delays, 2,671 were cancelled, and 213 were diverted. The cancellation rate works out to 1.31%, the diversion rate to 0.10%, and the average delay when departures run late is 75.7 minutes. These figures are the baseline for comparing RIC against other airports in the same state and nationally.

Breaking down what drives delays at RIC, Late Aircraft leads the pack. Late Aircraft accounts for 35.7% of total delay minutes, followed by Carrier at 34.8% and NAS (National Aviation System) at 25.1%. Weather contributes 4.2% of delay minutes at this airport, while security holds the smallest share at 0.2%. Travelers often overestimate the weather share; the BTS categorization shows late-arriving aircraft and carrier operations as the larger contributors.

Seasonally, September runs the cleanest at RIC with a 93.7% on-time rate, while July is the roughest at 88.3% — a 5-point swing between best and worst month. Volume peaks in March, when average flights hit 3,010. The busiest route from RIC is to RIC (Richmond), with 18,202 flights at a 83.4% on-time rate. Combine these numbers — 81.6% on-time, 75.7-minute average delay, 1.31% cancellation rate — and you have a concrete picture of departure reliability at Richmond, VA.