The head of Norfolk’s airport is looking to put the International back in Norfolk International Airport.
Airport CEO Mark Perryman told Chesapeake’s City Council that they’re in talks with air carriers to line up direct flights to the Caribbean, Latin American and Europe.
Norfolk currently doesn’t host any nonstop international flights.
The catch? To lure those flights, someone needs to pony up financial assistance to guarantee revenues for the air carriers.
“And that comes from the municipalities kicking in, it comes from businesses that are kicking in,” Perryman said during the council meeting. “And then the work really happens where the businesses in the community say, ‘We're going to fly on these flights.”
Norfolk International is seeing record passenger traffic this year, part of a national trend in air travel. The airport has added nonstop flights via budget carriers this year to places like San Diego and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Perryman said the top indirect international destinations from Norfolk are Cancun, Mexico; Montego Bay, Jamaica and London.
