HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — A vote to change airline services at Richmond International Airport (RIC) was deferred to late August as opponents of the potential change strongly voiced their concerns.
The Capital Region Airport Commission met Tuesday morning with standing room only.
Dave Ress, with the Richmond Times-Dispatch,first reported about the airport’s proposal and intentions of taking over fueling and other airline services from two local organizations.
Richmond Jet Center and Million Air Richmond are the airport's fixed base operator (FBO).
As such, they have handled services like airplane refueling, maintenance, and deicing for decades.
“We are never closed. I’ve never been closed for one minute in my 33 years," Million Air Richmond’s financial manager Mark Cooke said. "Three business days ago I got a letter saying we are being run out of town."
Cooke, and others against the proposal, said the changes would put more than 100 employees out of business and impact airport operations.
RIC President and CEO Perry Miller said proposals submitted by several FBOs did not meet their expectations which included a commitment to invest more than $30 million and improve facilities.
"Did you hear the reports of the growth we are experiencing here?” Miller asked as he turned in his chair and directly addressed Cooke and other attendees sitting behind him. “You know this, but you’re not willing to make the investment. It’s not fair to the community and I’m not going to stand by and accept that.”
In an email Tuesday, Cooke said, contrary to Miller's statements, Million Air did propose more than $30 million in capital improvements.
Miller also told the commission that the changes were a longtime coming and should’ve been expected.
Commissioner Reva Trammell, who is also a Richmond City Council member, voiced concerns that the process was happening too fast.
The commission decided to defer the vote to their August 27 meeting to allow commissioners to visit the FBOs and do more research about the possible ramifications of the changes.
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