© 2025 WHRO Public Media
5200 Hampton Boulevard, Norfolk VA 23508
757.889.9400 | info@whro.org
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Norfolk International Airport on track for another record year

After setting records in 2022 and 2023, Norfolk International Airport expects even more travelers in 2024.
Courtesy of Norfolk International Airport
Coming off a record-setting 2022, Norfolk International Airport expects even more travelers in 2023. (Image courtesy of Norfolk International Airport)

Continued passenger growth has fueled plans for expansions now underway at Norfolk’s airport.

The number of passengers heading through Norfolk International Airport continues its upward trajectory.

Norfolk International Airport set passenger records in 2022 and 2023, with 4.5 million passing through the airport last year.

This year, it hoped to top 5 million.

Spokesman Chris Jones said the airport’s traveler numbers will likely come in just below that, still setting a new record as growth across the industry slows slightly.

“When you get to a really, really high level, exceeding that level becomes more and more of a challenge,” Jones said.

One of the things that could play a part in stopping Norfolk from breaking the 5 million mark: the Crowdstrike software outage in July, which shut down Windows computers around the globe and caused thousands of canceled U.S. flights over the course of a few days.

“I don’t know if that will be the straw that broke the camel’s back, if you will, to keep us from hitting 5 million this year,” Jones said.

Year-over-year passenger growth at Norfolk is likely to slow down to look more like normal growth, which Jones said is on the order of a few percent, rather than the double-digit increases in traffic it was seeing as America emerged from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Still, with passenger traffic up 9% through September, that will likely mean a third consecutive record-breaking year for the airport that has worked to add carriers and expand flights over the last few years.

Most notably, Breeze Airlines started service out of Norfolk in 2021 and has rapidly expanded its offerings, including getting FAA approval this summer to start international flights.

Currently, ORF doesn't have any scheduled international international flights but that will change "in the near future," Jones said.

The airport broke ground on a billion-dollar expansion earlier this year that will help that goal. Plans include adding three new gates, a new on-site hotel and U.S. Customs inspection facility.

The airline that’s carried the most people through Norfolk so far this year has been American, with just over a million passengers.

Host Doug Boynton contributed to this report.

Corrected: October 18, 2024 at 9:31 AM EDT
This story was corrected to reflect Breeze Airways doesn't currently offer international flights and only received FAA approval to do so this summer.
Ryan is WHRO’s business and growth reporter. He joined the newsroom in 2021 after eight years at local newspapers, the Daily Press and Virginian-Pilot. Ryan is a Chesapeake native and still tries to hold his breath every time he drives through the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel.

The best way to reach Ryan is by emailing ryan.murphy@whro.org.

The world changes fast.

Keep up with daily local news from WHRO. Get local news every weekday in your inbox.

Sign-up here.