Post-Thanksgiving travel spike sends nearly 20,000 passengers through RIC on Sunday

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- As the holiday travel rush comes to a close this year, Richmond International Airport (RIC) is continuing to see spikes in passenger travel, with recent data showing higher numbers for Sunday and Monday after Thanksgiving.

According to a RIC spokesperson, Sunday, Nov. 30, saw nearly 20,000 passengers, including 9,742 departing passengers.

These figures are reportedly higher than normal travel days, which the spokesperson said average around 5,000 or 6,000 passengers total on these days.

This comes after RIC told 8News that it estimates that 180,000 people would fly in and out of the airport during the 12-day Thanksgiving period.

According to AAA, 2 million Virginians are expected to travel for the holiday. Nationally, about 82 million people are traveling for Thanksgiving this year, with 73 million on the roadways and nearly 9 million taking to the skies, expected to break records.