Norfolk International Airport

[willy]

Norfolk airport passengers continue to increase

NORFOLK -- The number of passengers at Norfolk International Airport increased 6 percent last month over the same period last year. Last month, the total passenger count reached 248,826, compared to 234,425 in February 2004.

Passenger counts at the Norfolk airport have increased nearly 10 percent in the first two months of 2005, compared to the same period last year.

Shank also said at the time that the airport most likely would announce a new airline in 2005, which might help keep passenger growth robust.

Southwest Airlines' new daily nonstop flight between Norfolk and Chicago also will be a boost. The flight to Chicago began earlier this month and marks the airport's first service to Chicago Midway.

Full Story

Humm, new airline huh? Sounds good!

[urbanvb]

Norfolk airport passengers continue to increase

NORFOLK -- The number of passengers at Norfolk International Airport increased 6 percent last month over the same period last year. Last month, the total passenger count reached 248,826, compared to 234,425 in February 2004.

Passenger counts at the Norfolk airport have increased nearly 10 percent in the first two months of 2005, compared to the same period last year.

Shank also said at the time that the airport most likely would announce a new airline in 2005, which might help keep passenger growth robust.

Southwest Airlines' new daily nonstop flight between Norfolk and Chicago also will be a boost. The flight to Chicago began earlier this month and marks the airport's first service to Chicago Midway.

Full Story 

Humm, new airline huh? Sounds good!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It does sound good. Norfolk is rockin all the way around. B)

[okinawatyphoon]

Yup...the airline would be JetBlue most likely. That probably means more flights to New York. All good stuff!

[vdogg]

It does sound good. Norfolk is rockin all the way around.  B)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It sure is. It has been nothing but good news for Norfolk all around. This may force them to do another expansion of the airport not to far done the road.

[okinawatyphoon]

It sure is. It has been nothing but good news for Norfolk all around. This may force them to do another expansion of the airport not to far done the road.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, it may force the airport to start construction on Concourse C sooner than they thought. It will only be built when there is demand according to what airport officials tell me, so there is no timeline. But with 10+% increases each year, it could happen soon!

[willy]

Yeah, Jetblue was what I was thinking too. Mr. Shank had said before that he was working on getting them to this area.

Wow, that would give us 4 total low fare airlines within the metro to choose from. I look for ORF to expand again in the very near future to handle the added traffic.

Edited March 24, 2005 by willy

[vdogg]

Yeah, Jetblue was what I was thinking too. Mr. Shank had said before that he was working on getting them to this area.

Wow, that would give us 4 total low fare airlines within the metro to choose from. I look for ORF to expand again in the very near future to handle the added traffic.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Which in turn will generate additional business in this area due to our increased access to transportation. I've always thought that Norfolk could support a much larger airport than it currently has.

[okinawatyphoon]

Which in turn will generate additional business in this area due to our increased access to transportation. I've always thought that Norfolk could support a much larger airport than it currently has.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah we have quite a small airport for a metro area our size. Even when you combine passenger counts with Newport News, there's only about 5 million max. For some perspective, the island I live on has a population of 1.3 million and the airport has 13 million people per year. Pretty impressive, but tourism is big where I live. Still, Norfolk needs more passengers.

[willy]

Still, Norfolk needs more passengers.

The problem is that most tourists drive here instead of flying. Also, Norfolk is not a hub for any airline, so the passenger count is going to be low.

[rusthebuss]

Which in turn will generate additional business in this area due to our increased access to transportation. I've always thought that Norfolk could support a much larger airport than it currently has.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The only way the airport will grow is if it moves to Suffolk or Isle of Wight. There really is no land to grow on there. They need to build the airport outside of the city and have a rail into the city. Then you might see a change in the size.

[JPN0731]

True, but i don't know if people would really want the airport placed way out there. It's kinda out of the way.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If Oceana does close.... instant HUGE airport in VA Beach.

If not, I don't see why they could not expand the runway south over the freeway (put the freeway into a tunnel and tear down some of the business park stuff) and north into the lake on the north and onto part of the Amphibious base... Or couldn't they build another runway along the VA Beach/Norfolk city line near Northampton where there is nothing really going on?

The long-term plan was putting the airport all the way out in Isle of Wight county... but I doubt that would "fly".

[ace707]

If Oceana does close.... instant HUGE airport in VA Beach.

If not, I don't see why they could not expand the runway south over the freeway (put the freeway into a tunnel and tear down some of the business park stuff) and north into the lake on the north and onto part of the Amphibious base...  Or couldn't they build another runway along the VA Beach/Norfolk city line near Northampton where there is nothing really going on? 

The long-term plan was putting the airport all the way out in Isle of Wight county... but I doubt that would "fly".

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I highly doubt an airport would replace oceana if it closed for several, simple, obvious reasons: 1. It will be too expensive to convert the base 2. Too many people over there beotch about jet-noise. (My biggest annoyance in that issue is why those people decided to live there if they didn't like jet noise. It's common sense!) 3. Highway access is too far 4. Traffic is already too heavy on I-264

My dad used to work at the airport and the airport does have long term plans to support any and all growth. Of all the expansions they planned, only one so far has been necessary to do so far and that is obviously the additional garage and arrivals terminal. There are plans to add concourse C whenever it is needed but knowing that not even all 30 current gates are being used and that U.S airways could be gone in a few short years at best, concourse C won't be needed right away. Finally the additional runway to be parallel to the current main one would be done only if the airport's 200 daily flights increase to at least 300, maybe more. I don't know how soon that will happen if ever within the next 10-15 years.

Honestly, building the ariport in Isle of Wight seems to make no sense to me. First it is too far from even the outter edge of the dense metro area. No one in either the southside or penninsula will have any convience. Then it will be very expensive to build. Increase of traffic to small 2 lane roads will not help. Building high-speed rail or mass transit will be too costly and disputed because it will no doubt anger citizens and businesses in its path. Saying that it is thinking for the "long-term" is a lame excuse for really in the end just wanting more growth and sprawl so the state can make more tax money. The last thing I want to see is VA lose its character of water, plains, hills and mountains and look like a megalopolis that happens to be a state.

[vdogg]

I highly doubt an airport would replace oceana if it closed for several, simple, obvious reasons: 1. It will be too expensive to convert the base  2. Too many people over there beotch about jet-noise. (My biggest annoyance in that issue is why those people decided to live there if they didn't like jet noise. It's common sense!)  3. Highway access is too far  4. Traffic is already too heavy on I-264

My dad used to work at the airport and the airport does have long term plans to support any and all growth. Of all the expansions they planned, only one so far has been necessary to do so far and that is obviously the additional garage and arrivals terminal. There are plans to add concourse C whenever it is needed but knowing that not even all 30 current gates are being used and that U.S airways could be gone in a few short years at best, concourse C won't be needed right away.  Finally the additional runway to be parallel to the current main one would be done only if the airport's 200 daily flights increase to at least 300, maybe more. I don't know how soon that will happen if ever within the next 10-15 years.

Honestly, building the ariport in Isle of Wight seems to make no sense to me. First it is too far from even the outter edge of the dense metro area. No one in either the southside or penninsula will have any convience. Then it will be very expensive to build. Increase of traffic to small 2 lane roads will not help. Building high-speed rail or mass transit will be too costly and disputed because it will no doubt anger citizens and businesses in its path. Saying that it is thinking for the "long-term" is a lame excuse for really in the end just wanting more growth and sprawl so the state can make more tax money. The last thing I want to see is VA lose its character of water, plains, hills and mountains and look like a megalopolis that happens to be a state.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Whether we like it or not, even with our current climate of urbanization, sprawl will indeed overtake that area someday. While i agree making isle of Wight the location of the main regional airport is essentially useless, it may indeed be the location of an additional secondary airport to handle growing air traffic needs and take some of the pressure off NIA someday. Keep in mind i'm talking in the 20-30 year timeframe. I don't see any need for this to happen in the immediate future.

[ace707]

Whether we like it or not, even with our current climate of urbanization, sprawl will indeed overtake that area someday. While i agree making isle of Wight the location of the main regional airport is essentially useless, it may indeed be the location of an additional secondary airport to handle growing air traffic needs and take some of the pressure off NIA someday. Keep in mind i'm talking in the 20-30 year timeframe. I don't see any need for this to happen in the immediate future.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That is true, sprawl is basically inevitable but I don't thnk we should encourage or accelerate it. Honestly we should have the Newport News airport help Norfolk out before we consider a super airport out in the wilderness. Doesn't the state realize that we already have 2 airports? Haven't they heard of working togeter and being effiecient and flexible? I'm sure our 2 current airports can handle the job.

[rusthebuss]

Move the airport to Suffolk or Chesapeake something like that i didn't mean to it had to be in isle of wight. How many cities do you know that have the actuall airport in the city? Not any city with any size.

[rusthebuss]

2 airports makes no sense at all, this is another bunch of crap that shows the crap unification of this area.

[ace707]

2 airports makes no sense at all, this is another bunch of crap that shows the crap unification of this area.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Chicago has two airports and New York does too. The thing is they are hubs. 2 airports can do fine for a region if those airports know how to work together. I mean look, Norfolk grew AND Newport News grew, I think our airport situation is doing fine and whether it was intentional or not, both airports are helping each other out by attracting airlines that the other doesn't have. That way they aren't competing directly with each other but more like complementing each other. Honestly as far as unification goes, I think Hampton, Newport News and Williamsburg has better unification than Norfolk and Va. Beach. Then again, Norfolk and Va. Beach are the two biggest cities in the state (I don't get why they don't count Fedricksburg as a city when their population is over 900,000) so they both will always compete. I surprised Chesapeake hasn't gotten into the fray knowing they are the third largest city in the the state. Their population is only around 20,000 people less than Norfolk.

[okinawatyphoon]

This is from SSP.

American Airlines' regional affiliate will launch the first non-stop service between Norfolk's Norfolk International Airport and Louisville's Louisville International-Standiford Field Airport to Miami. Daily ERJ-140 service to Miami from both airports begins on 9 June 2005. The same day, American Eagle will also join Northwest Airlines by offering service on the Miami-Memphis route, with two daily flights.

Louisville and Norfolk both have existing non-stop service to the Miami area with non-stop flights on Delta Connection to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Interantional Airport. The new service to Miami offers Norfolk and Louisville customers new one-stop connections to the Caribbean and Latin America.

American Airlines, American Eagle, and their oneWorld partners offer over 260 daily non-stop flights from Miami to 99 cities worldwide, as south as Buenos Aires and as north as Helsinki.

In the southern US, American Airlines and American Eagle currently fly from Miami non-stop to Atlanta, Charlotte, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Key West, Nashville, New Orleans, Orlando, Raleigh, Richmond, and Tampa.

In December, American Eagle is expected to begin non-stop service from Miami to three more Southern airports: Greensboro, Birmingham, and Pensacola.

Edited April 4, 2005 by vdogg

[JPN0731]

It seems that the Norfolk Development page is overwhelmed with so many topics and I wanted to say something about the airport specifically.

The reason that a lot of people keep talking about this airport that supposedly is going to be built in Isle of Wight County or something is probably because of some article that was in the paper a few years back. In it, there was some report that said something to the effect that some commission had found that two airports in the area would not work and that they would be consolidated within the next 30 years or so. So NN would lose its airport and ORF would close as well.

Maybe that study was done pre 9/11 and so after that, we may not have as much $$ to throw at new aiports that take another 30 years to reach potential (i.e. Dulles). Personally, I love ORF being very close to the Beach and Norfolk and hope it stays there for the long term. I am happy to hear that they can expand it but the thing that I like most is its size and how easy it is to navigate. Detroit is an example of how an airport can be huge and still be very manageable as well though.

Are there any plans to expand the runways to handle bigger planes or would there even be a need? The biggest ones I have seen there are the 737 sized ones. I could be wrong but I have never seen a 747 type plane there (I have seen them on the Naval Station).

[vdogg]

This is from SSP.

American Airlines' regional affiliate will launch the first non-stop service between Norfolk's Norfolk International Airport and Louisville's Louisville International-Standiford Field Airport to Miami. Daily ERJ-140 service to Miami from both airports begins on 9 June 2005. The same day, American Eagle will also join Northwest Airlines by offering service on the Miami-Memphis route, with two daily flights.

Louisville and Norfolk both have existing non-stop service to the Miami area with non-stop flights on Delta Connection to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Interantional Airport. The new service to Miami offers Norfolk and Louisville customers new one-stop connections to the Caribbean and Latin America.

American Airlines, American Eagle, and their oneWorld partners offer over 260 daily non-stop flights from Miami to 99 cities worldwide, as south as Buenos Aires and as north as Helsinki.

In the southern US, American Airlines and American Eagle currently fly from Miami non-stop to Atlanta, Charlotte, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Key West, Nashville, New Orleans, Orlando, Raleigh, Richmond, and Tampa.

In December, American Eagle is expected to begin non-stop service from Miami to three more Southern airports: Greensboro, Birmingham, and Pensacola.

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Do you know what the original source of this article is okinawa?

[Glassoul]

It seems that the Norfolk Development page is overwhelmed with so many topics and I wanted to say something about the airport specifically.

The reason that a lot of people keep talking about this airport that supposedly is going to be built in Isle of Wight County or something is probably because of some article that was in the paper a few years back.  In it, there was some report that said something to the effect that some commission had found that two airports in the area would not work and that they would be consolidated within the next 30 years or so. 

Are there any plans to expand the runways to handle bigger planes or would there even be a need?  The biggest ones I have seen there are the 737 sized ones.  I could be wrong but I have never seen a 747 type plane there (I have seen them on the Naval Station).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Right now, the current main runway at NIA is not long enough to support a 747. I'm not sure if the new runway understudy is planned to be capable of that. They probably haven't even decided. It would be difficult to do given the proximity of the interstate and river (which the current runway already juts into). Besides, I don't really see a demand for having it 747/A380 capable. As for other planes like the 777 and 787 and whatever Airbus rivals that, I don't know. OT: But speaking of airplanes, that new 787 is one pretty piece of machinery. Certainly the nicest looking commercial jet developed yet.

There is an enviornmental study being conducted right now ( http://www.norfolkairport.com/pressoffice/eis.shtml ) about adding a second runway to handle additional traffic. People have to realize that the amount of red tape that airports must go through to expand is mind blowing. When they talk about enviornmental impact, their not just talking about cutting down trees or more exhaust fumes. Here is a list of all the things that considered when doing an EIS:

1. Noise

2. Air Quality

3. Water Quality

4. Wetlands

5. Compatible Land Use

6. Socioeconomic Impacts

7. Coastal Resources

8. Department of Transportation Act, Section 4(f) Lands

9. Historic, Architectural, Archaeological, and Cultural Resources

10. Floodplains and Floodways

11. Fish, Wildlife, and Plants

12. Hazardous Materials and Solid Waste

13. Secondary (Induced) Impacts

14. Natural Resources and Energy Supply

15. Light Emissions and Visual Impacts

16. Farmlands

17. Wild and Scenic Rivers

18. Construction Impact

Needless to say this takes a lot of time to analyize. And that's just to the EIS. Then you have the public hearings which are always fun, security concerns, airline concerns, etc. etc. After all that, then you can begin the process of financing and designing and building. In another post I pointed out, it took Detroit almost 20 years to build a new airport even on existing airport land.

As far as the Isle of Wight is concerned, I believe when the Virginia Department of Aviation first talked about updating the NIA masterplan (as is required by FAA rules when traffic hits 60% of maximum capacity), they are required by law to look at alternatives. If it proved for whatever reason that it was not possible to build an additional runway, one of the alternatives was to relocate the airport to the western part of Hampton Roads. However, this is looked upon as an option of last resort, because moving the airport there is going to cause a helluva lot of problems on it's own.

First off, people from Virginia Beach, Eastern Parts of Norfolk, and Southern Chesapeake aren't going to want to drive 1+ hours to the airport. Neither are the tourists... As well, all that extra traffic is going to overwhelm the already overrun mid-town and downtown tunnels, and increase congestion on 664, increasingly the travel time even more. Can you imagine trying to catch a flight that departs in a window of within 3-4 hours of the morning and afternoon rushhours? It'd take you 2 hours to get there from eastern HR.

Secondly, if you haven't noticed, there are several large commerical parks located near NIA. They are there for a reason... Those companies aren't going to be too thrilled with having to possibly move (and wait for construction of a new office park).

I think you're going to see the VDA and NIA make every attempt to make sure that the second runway is built. Looking into my crystal ball, I say it will be completed in 2014. As for the terminals, the second terminal isn't even completely leased, and there appears to be room to expand that terminal even more if necessary.

Edited April 4, 2005 by Glassoul

[okinawatyphoon]

Nope. I asked on SSP where the source was, but I'm getting no response.

[okinawatyphoon]

I just emailed the nice folks at NorfolkAirport.com. I'll let you know what they say.

[okinawatyphoon]

Currently the largest jets that serve Norfolk are 757's by Delta I think. Its sad though that we don't have the demand for larger jets. I hate riding in puny jets. I'm used to the biggies haha.

[lammius]

Currently the largest jets that serve Norfolk are 757's by Delta I think. Its sad though that we don't have the demand for larger jets. I hate riding in puny jets. I'm used to the biggies haha.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I enjoy taking a 757 to visit the 757