Norfolk International Airport

[BFG]

Looking over that PDF, I think I like the plans that allow for the new ticket checkin counters, but also keep baggage claim within the same building. That walk to the current location with no moving walkway is a pain. 

[Arctic_Tern]

Really interested in how this goes moving forward. Hopefully the Navy will buy off on the parallel runway. I'm not sure how much it would actually affect changes in airspace, since it seems like the new runway would only be a few hundred feet southeast of the current runway, and would probably duplicate a lot of airspace requirements the current runway has. And can the Navy really not afford to alter it's current flightplan? Virginia Beach is gigantic, why can't their flightpaths go over that?

[baobabs727]

People in these surveys actually think that there are "long walks" at ORF? Are you freaking kidding me? Have they never been anywhere else? Do they never get off the sofa?   I sure as hell hope that these airport folks do not take such ignorant demands into account when designing an expansion plan! 

[vdogg]

7 hours ago, Arctic_Tern said:

Really interested in how this goes moving forward. Hopefully the Navy will buy off on the parallel runway. I'm not sure how much it would actually affect changes in airspace, since it seems like the new runway would only be a few hundred feet southeast of the current runway, and would probably duplicate a lot of airspace requirements the current runway has. And can the Navy really not afford to alter it's current flightplan? Virginia Beach is gigantic, why can't their flightpaths go over that?

The navy complained that it would cost them a whole $4.5 million dollars more to shift flights away from Va. Beach.... They waste more than that on coffee. We’ve got billion dollar planes that have never seen a day in combat yet this is the hill they choose to die on? It’s hard to take them as a serious partner when they come back at us with crap like this.

[Virginia City]

I like 2 or 3 but I feel like we will get 1 because it keep the existing terminal (if it happens at all).

[vdogg]

20 hours ago, baobabs727 said:

People in these surveys actually think that there are "long walks" at ORF? Are you freaking kidding me? Have they never been anywhere else? Do they never get off the sofa?   I sure as hell hope that these airport folks do not take such ignorant demands into account when designing an expansion plan! 

I think this complaint stems from them removing the movable walkways (seriously don’t understand why they decided to do this). Replace those walkways and problem solved.

[BFG]

45 minutes ago, vdogg said:

I think this complaint stems from them removing the movable walkways (seriously don’t understand why they decided to do this). Replace those walkways and problem solved.

That was the complaint I saw most, and a lot came from people who were disabled. When you’ve been on a flight all day and walk from the end of one concourse, all the way to baggage claim/pickup, it can be exhausting for anyone. 

I think the moving belt became too expensive to fix or replace, and apparently they never maintained it during its lifespan. 

[hollise]

It's been a long time since I've posted anything here, however, to add to this conversation there are 2 reasons they removed the moving walkway and haven't replaced it yet; 1, it's service life was over, and secondly, and the most important, is since the structure is actually a bridge as opposed to a building on a foundation vibrations in the structure caused extraordinary wear in the walkway which ended it functionality soon than it should have.  They are supposed to be working on a solution but who knows when that will be.  

I think also part of what makes it seem like a 'long' walk which in actuality it's not as long as some other airports is there is no activity along the path to the arrivals.  If there were concessions along there this would make a big difference in people's perception of how long the walk actually is.

 

[baobabs727]

10 hours ago, vdogg said:

I think this complaint stems from them removing the movable walkways (seriously don’t understand why they decided to do this). Replace those walkways and problem solved.

True. Let's hope so.  I once walked Atlanta Hartfield-Jackson from one end to the other and beat the tram ha ha. Now THATs a long walk! 

Edited September 15, 2019 by baobabs727

[BFG]

August saw nearly 392K passengers, up 8.5% from August '18.

Right now, the airport is looking at 2.69M passengers for January-August '19, compared to 2.41M for the same time frame last year (11% increase). ORF remains on pace for 4M, esp. if they can get 400K passengers in some of these final months of 2019. Fortunately, Hurricane Dorian didn't impact Hampton Roads too badly in September.

https://www.norfolkairport.com/sites/default/files/August%202019%20Media%20Release.pdf

[BFG]

I found a few renderings of what the expanded airport might look like. It doesn't feature the proposed ticket counter, but it does show the third concourse.

https://www.howardmodels.com/Architectural-Scale-Models/Norfolk-Airport/index.html

[BFG]

Norfolk Airport officials support getting rid of shorter runway, reconfiguring terminal
https://www.pilotonline.com/business/vp-bz-airport-master-plan-20190930-4dapjg3wvvajvbdnbhlpzirtw4-story.html

Choosing from alternatives proposed by its consultants, the authority also supported reconfiguring the airport’s terminal, shifting all of its airline ticketing counters to one space directly across from arrivals. The current arrangement has them on opposite sides of a building, which necessitates a complicated path of roads leading to departure drop-offs and hourly parking lots. The plan would also consolidate the airport’s two security checkpoints into one, which would lead to two concourses and, eventually, a third.

“You would still have the issue of the walk,” said commissioner Deborah Painter, referring to complaints by travelers since the airport’s lengthy moving walkway was removed from a pedestrian bridge that travelers need to cross to get to baggage claim. The airport’s executive director, Robert Bowen, said there may be an opportunity to add moving walkways inside existing concourses if they’re eventually widened.

[BFG]

I was more partial to the 3rd or 4th plan...I think the one they're recommending is kinda mundane, but we'll see. Hopefully it allows ORF to become a small hub (think Allegiant or Frontier), and maybe add more of a food court.

[Willy18]

15 hours ago, BFG said:

I was more partial to the 3rd or 4th plan...I think the one they're recommending is kinda mundane, but we'll see. Hopefully it allows ORF to become a small hub (think Allegiant or Frontier), and maybe add more of a food court.

Yep, I figured they would go with No.1, it looks to be the cheapest option. Number 3 would have been really cool but would have been a huge project. I do think they should incorporate the curbside canopy from No.4 into the chosen design. Would eliminate the wind sprints during drop off/pick-ups in the rain.  

[vdogg]

Man, that 3rd plan was awesome, but somehow in my heart... I knew they'd go small.

[BFG]

8 hours ago, Willy18 said:

Yep, I figured they would go with No.1, it looks to be the cheapest option. Number 3 would have been really cool but would have been a huge project. I do think they should incorporate the curbside canopy from No.4 into the chosen design. Would eliminate the wind sprints during drop off/pick-ups in the rain.  

The canopy was the one thing I wanted the most, oddly enough. I dunno what it is, but when I go to other airports, it seems to make the place feel more......”official”. I know that sounds silly, but that’s just me lol.

[ronsmytheiii]

On 9/13/2019 at 9:46 PM, baobabs727 said:

People in these surveys actually think that there are "long walks" at ORF? Are you freaking kidding me? Have they never been anywhere else? Do they never get off the sofa?   I sure as hell hope that these airport folks do not take such ignorant demands into account when designing an expansion plan! 

As someone who has to fly RyanAir out of Stansted Airport all I can do is

 

 

[vdogg]

On 10/1/2019 at 3:55 PM, ronsmytheiii said:

As someone who has to fly RyanAir out of Stansted Airport all I can do is

 

 

Never again will I fall for that bait and switch. Flew into “London” Stansted because it was so ridiculously cheap and immediately found out why. That airport is as much a part of London as Kings Dominion is of Norfolk,,,Literally! Never again.

[Cjnfkvb]

I was hoping for number 3, with the canopy from number 4, but looking back, number 1 has been there original expansion plan for a long time.  I figure that, if they spent a lot of time, and money developing that plan, they would rather go with it, than throw everything out the window and start from scratch. I hope they can add more restraunts and shopping. Consolidating the terminals eliminates the need for redundancy.  Also, when I last traveled via air, I went to visit family in Portland OR. They have a small movie theater in there airport. Somthing like that would be nice considering you may have to wait hours to catch your flight. Also, the walk isnt that bad.

[BFG]

September 2019: 307K passengers, up 10.4% from Sept. '18 (277K).

2019 so far: 2.98M, up 11% from January-September '18 (2.67M).

https://www.norfolkairport.com/sites/default/files/September 2019 Media Release.pdf

The last three months of 2018 saw about 975K passengers. If the 10% average increase continues, I see ORF having 1.07M passengers for October-December, bringing the total to just more than 4M.

[BFG]

Lotta numbers here...

• 337K in October 2019 (about a 2% increase from Oct. '18, but the largest October in airport history)
• 3.32M total in 2019 (10% increase from Jan-Oct '18)

If they pull that same 337K in November and December, they'll hit just under 4M. Last year, ORF averaged about 322K passengers to close out the year, and barring bad weather, I see no reason why they don't keep the 10% average increase. I really think 4M is happening.

[BFG]

https://www.norfolkairport.com/sites/default/files/November 2019 Media Release.pdf

November 2019: 320K (decrease of 1.4% from 11/18)
Year-to-date: 3.64M (up 7.8% from YTD 2018)

The airport needs about 358K to hit 4M, which seems tough. December 2018 also brought in 320K, so fingers crossed for a very busy Christmas season.

[vdogg]

Strange. I wonder what the cause of the decrease was?

[Virginia City]

2 hours ago, vdogg said:

Strange. I wonder what the cause of the decrease was?

Bad weather maybe?

[AuLukey]

Strange. I wonder what the cause of the decrease was?

 

One potential factor is that the gradual relocation of Family Dollar to Chesapeake (and subsequent constant commutes between the two cities) helped spiked flights for most of 2018 and up until August 2019. Now that their move is complete, I expect the ORF-CLT to be far less routinely packed, hub withstanding.