NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk International Airport is celebrating a major milestone. For the first time in its history, more than half a million passengers traveled through the airport in a single month.
In July, 514,133 passengers flew in and out of Norfolk International, a 4.8% increase over the same month in 2024, according to the Norfolk Airport Authority. July’s traffic also pushed the airport’s year-to-date passenger count to more than 2.8 million — up nearly 1% from last year.
“We're excited. This is the first time in the history of the airport that we've exceeded 500,000 passengers in a month,” said Chris Jones, the airport’s chief marketing and communications officer.
He continued, “I think we thought maybe in June that we would eclipse that mark, but with July being busier, also having one extra day, just the popularity of this destination that brings people in for the beaches in Norfolk, the beaches in Virginia Beach, Outer Banks, Williamsburg, and all the attractions there…. We see numbers we've never seen before.”
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Airport leaders say summer travel demand, an extra day in the month and more nonstop destinations all helped set the record.
Delta saw the largest year-over-year increase among major carriers, with a 17.3% jump in passengers compared to July 2024. American Airlines grew 6.1%, while Southwest Airlines increased 2.9%.
Norfolk International now hosts nine airlines and offers 45 nonstop destinations — boosted by JetBlue’s arrival this spring with flights to Boston, and Breeze Airways’ continued expansion with new point-to-point routes.
“The more critical mass you can build, the more you can show that there are people flying in and out of your airport… These are things that airline network planners notice, and they look to build on that momentum wherever they can,” Jones said.
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The airport has seen three consecutive years of record annual passenger growth and is on pace for a fourth. Leaders hope to top 5 million total passengers by the end of 2025, which would break last year’s annual record.
Jones said the airport is working on improvements to handle the increased traffic and enhance the customer experience.
“We want to make sure that when they come, they're not overcrowded, that they're able to find a place to park easily, that they have room to sit down in their hold rooms,” he said. “One of the things we know is that a point of concern with our customers is the food and beverage. So we're working very diligently to expand that program… All of these things are important that we don't want to be stagnant.”
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While Jones says Norfolk will never be on the scale of Washington, D.C., or Atlanta’s hub operations, he believes the airport is “doing very, very well” compared to similar-sized facilities.
Norfolk currently handles more passengers than Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport and is competitive with Richmond International in annual totals.
Airport officials are optimistic about attracting more service in the future.
Breeze Airways is set to launch year-round service to Fort Lauderdale in December, and Jones says there could be an international announcement soon.
“We hope to get 5 million passengers by the end of the year,” Jones said. “So those five numbers are really, really big for us here. And to get the first one, that's a great sign.”
