When Jon Mathiasen was hired away from Valley International Airport in South Texas to become the new president and CEO of Richmond International Airport in 2000, he arrived at an airport in transition.
The place was in the midst of a $250 million expansion and upgrade that included a two-level terminal and roadway, new control tower, baggage claims systems and parking garages — an overhaul designed to transform an airport then characterized by dated carpets, dim lighting and a lackluster passenger experience.
A 2000 Richmond Times-Dispatch headline accused the airport of having a “terminal case of the blahs,” and the article it accompanied quoted a visitor from Charlotte, N.C., who described the facilities as “gray, dull and outdated.”
