NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Norfolk International Airport is on track to have another record-breaking year.
According to the airport’s September passenger numbers, they’re trending towards having close to 5 million passengers travel through in 2024. This will be the third year in a row they have beaten their previous record for the number of travelers they have had.
“It’s been phenomenal,” said Chris Jones, chief marketing and communications officer. “After the pandemic ended and a lot of people had the desire to really get out and start living their lives again and traveling to the airport, [we] saw record traffic in 2022, eclipsing 4 million for the first time. In 2023, it was more than four-and-a-half million passengers.”
Through September, 3.6 million passengers took to the sky this year through Norfolk, up almost 9% percent compared to last year.
“This year, we were on track for a period of time that we thought we might hit 5 million, but I think we’ll probably be a little bit below that,” Jones said. “Even still, we’re probably going to be close to a half million more passengers than we were a year ago, which is phenomenal.”
Jones said the passenger numbers ultimately help them accomplish their goals to revitalize the airport. That includes a new security checkpoint, rental car facility, international arrivals facility and a movable walkway that are all in store for the future.
“This airport will look vastly different over the next few years to better serve the community for the decades to come,” Jones said.
Jones said that the increasing amount of visitors to the area is also helping boost the local economy.
“We view this airport as a regional asset,” Jones said. “It is something that brings people here, whether they live in Virginia Beach, whether they live in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, on the Peninsula, even a lot of people coming through here are on their way to the Outer Banks. The number of people that come through, they spend money on hotels, they spend money on amusement park tickets in restaurants, different businesses.”