NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — The sky’s the limit for Norfolk International Airport.
After a record-breaking April, officials said the airport is on track for its biggest year ever.
That record amount of traffic for April was likely due to the Something in the Water festival and other big events.
We’re told the airport is on an upward trend and it’s paying off for travelers.
From festivals to conventions, April brought big results for the Norfolk airport.
“You had a perfect storm of events and activities that was going on,”
Last month, the airport saw a 13% increase in travelers as compared to April 2018. In that same month, more than 286,000 travelers passed through Norfolk International Airport. One year later, that number jumped to more than 324,000.
We’re told the end of April was noticeably busier at the airport because of Something in the Water, the International Tattoo Festival, along with national and international conventions
On top of a successful month, Director of Market Development Charlie Braden said the airport is up 14% for the year.
“We have almost 1,200 people average a day higher than the same period last year,” he said.
Braden said the growth is due to several factors.
“Over the past couple of years, we’ve had two new airlines come to the airport. We have airlines that are existing here now that are adding frequencies to their routes,” he said. “They’re flying larger aircraft, so they’re adding capacity to the region.”
Braden said a good economy and lower airfare also played a part.
So what does this mean moving forward?
“Well it means we need to be ready for growth,” Braden said. “We’re on a four year high right now.”
And for travelers, that means more options. We’re told new routes are about to take off.
“We’re going to be starting new service, seasonal service to Cleveland and Cincinnati as well as Nashville, and also our first ever West Coast flight to San Diego that we’ll begin,” Braden said. “These will operate seasonally during the summer.”
More growth also means more amenities. A new charging lounge just opened in the departures lobby and an FAO Schwartz toy store will be opening next month.
