NORFOLK, Va. - It's the gateway to popular destinations in Hampton Roads and northeastern North Carolina and already, 2023 is outpacing Norfolk International Airport's record-setting 2022.
That's according to early numbers from the region's largest airport, which also reported more than 4 million passengers last year — its busiest year in more than eight decades of operation.
Mark Perryman, the airport's Executive Director, says more air travelers discovered the area during the COVID-19 pandemic; a relaxing vacation spot they could reach without having to leave the country.
“Instead of being a drive-to destination, we became a fly-to destination,” Perryman said during a recent sit-down interview in his office. “We’re up 7.2 percent over 2019, our previous record year.”
Perryman, who came to ORF last May after more than 30 years as an airport consultant, says those numbers are rare in the pandemic-era, adding that air travel nationwide is still down more than six percent from 2019.
That growth, he says, forced the airport to rethink the timeline for projects once thought to be years down the road.
“We’re really looking at the priorities set within the Master Plan and identifying the types of projects that we may need to move forward with sooner rather than later," Perryman said.
The return of the 'People Mover'
Among the most-requested improvements, Perryman says, was the return of the moving sidewalk on the sky bridge between the Departures terminal and the Arrivals building.
U.S. senators for Virginia, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, recently announced more than $5 million in federal funding to help bring the feature back.
The airport released renderings showing what it would look like.
2 (TSA checkpoints) becomes 1
“Construction [should start] within the next year," Perryman said of plans to combine the existing TSA security checkpoints in each of the airport's two concourses.
Plans in Perryman's 2023 State of the Airport presentation, released in late January, show 8-12 security lanes occupying the area that currently houses restaurants like The Local @ ORF, Burger King and Starbucks, along with Hudson News and administrative offices.
According to Perryman, early projections have the project costing around $40 million.
He says restaurants and concessions would be moved to the other side of security, where he believes they will make more money than the current pre-screening setup.
Adding on to Concourse A
One project still in the planning stages is the addition of several gates onto the end of the existing Concourse A, where American and Southwest Airlines flights currently service.
According to Perryman, while the number of flights flying in and out of the airport has gone down, airlines are bringing larger planes with greater capacity, leading overcrowding at the current gates.
He says a planned $75 million expansion should ease some of that congestion.
A rendering for the proposed project includes a joint airline club for business passengers. Perryman says a club is one of the top requested amenities and the airport is seriously looking into them.
New "Departures" curb, consolidated ticketing
The largest expansion project in the works, Perryman says, is the addition of a new Departures curb running parallel to the Arrivals area. The airport would then combine the two ticketing areas that currently sit on either side of the terminal.
It's a project that was originally planned for the 2034 time period, but it's now been moved up and Perryman said the project could go "hand-in-glove" with the previously mentioned expansions and upgrades.
And those are just the plans directly impacting passengers. The airport is also planning a $30 million rehabilitation of the runway over the next two years and a $50-55 million consolidation of checked baggage screening operations.
“We could be looking at $500 million in improvements over the next five to seven years," said Perryman, who adds that the projects would be paid for with airport profits, in addition to other funding and grants. He makes a point to say here that local cities and local taxpayer dollars will not be involved in funding.
Stay at ORF
One amenity the airport is still lacking is a hotel on-site.
For a potential location, Perryman says the airport identified a pocket of land where the north short-term parking lot currently sits on the Delta side of the Departures building.
He said the airport will put out a Request For Proposals (RFP) "in the next 30 days," but interest from potential developers is already coming in. The airport would provide the land and the customer base, but the developer would have to pay for construction and to lease the property.
Perryman envisions the airport hotel as a place for Outer Banks travelers to stay the night before an early flight, as opposed to driving two hours, or a location for flight crews to stay instead of busing to another area of Norfolk.
The president of VisitNorfolk, a tourism-focused organization, says the prospect of a hotel is particularly exciting.
“I couldn’t be more excited. Right now, I think we need another 500 to 1,000 rooms, today. We’re running 70 percent occupancy," said Kurt Krause. “To put a 150-room — I think that's what the estimate is — of a hotel on the airport grounds. That does nothing but help the inventory of our city.”
The Future
Should the number of passengers at Norfolk International Airport continue to grow through the next several years, the airport is already planning how to expand next.
Renderings from the 2021 Master Plan include a potential "Concourse C" built onto the southern end of the Departures building mirroring Concourse A.
Perryman says the addition likely wouldn't be built until after 2030, but it's being considered in the development of improvements already happening.
“(We are) making sure that we are leaving room for those types of future facilities," he said.
Perryman says the growth happening at the airport has led to discussions with companies looking to move operations to the area. According to the president of Hampton Roads Chamber, air service is a key part of those evaluations.
“30 direct flight destinations, the efficiency that they get people through that airport and the fact that they’re investing in it to even make more improvements is extremely important from a business expansion perspective," said Bryan Stephens.
But expansion isn't without its challenges.
According to Perryman, courting airlines to operate out of ORF is the biggest. Recent airline additions of Breeze and Sprint have added new nonstop flight destinations, but airport administrators are still working to add nonstop service to the west coast of the U.S.
Perryman believes it's coming, though. Just another change that can't come soon enough.
“There’s a lot to be excited about at Norfolk International. There just is. It’s a great facility, there’s great opportunities for growth occurring all around us," he said.
Click here to see the full 2023 State of the Airport presentation.
