NORFOLK, Va. — From the return of the moving sidewalk...to major additions to the Departures terminal, the first of $650 million in construction projects at Norfolk International Airport will break ground in 2024.
WATCH: New animation shows major additions coming to ORF
Up until now, you could say the looming revamp at "ORF" was 'on the runway' with airport leadership showing off exciting blueprints and renderings at meetings, but this year is when everything is expected to take flight.
“We could have four major projects breaking ground this year and under construction before we know it," said Mark Perryman, CEO of the Norfolk Airport Authority. "Elements that we need to be able to serve the public.”
It comes as the airport is celebrating its busiest year ever for passengers — 4.5 million in 2023, an increase of about ten percent from 2022 — and new, direct service to San Diego.
Moving Walkway across the Sky Bridge
Perryman says the most requested 'element' is an important piece of getting passengers to and from the Departures terminal; the moving sidewalk across the 300-foot-long sky bridge.
"I'm looking forward to it," Winifred White-Henry, a Florida native visiting her daughter in the Navy, told News 3. “I’m a 100 percent disabled veteran, so it’s quite a long walk.”
There have been some changes to the walkway's configuration. Instead of occupying the middle of the sky bridge (pictured), Perryman says each lane will occupy the outside of the bridge.
"(You will) have that nice view out the glass," he said. “We always have that big summer peak, July and August, so I would say by September, October you should start seeing that going in.”
More in '24: Concourse A expansion, new airport hotel, Customs and Border Patrol facility
That's a later date than initially expected, meaning other projects will now break ground first, Perryman tells News 3.
This spring, he expects construction to begin on the expansion of Concourse A: Home to American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Allegiant Air flights.
The glass-walled room is scheduled to take 12-14 months to build and will include three new gates, larger hold rooms — where passengers sit and wait to board — and pet relief areas.
The gates and larger seating areas are needed, Perryman says, because the current airport facility was built in 1974 for 50-seat airplanes, not the near-300-seaters that fly in and out daily.
“We have the ability to go out further in the future, if we need to, and add more gates so we’re kind of setting that aesthetic, setting that new footprint. It’s a bigger building, it’s wider," said Perryman of the prospect of expanding further and widening current concourses in the future.
Construction on the airport's new on-site hotel on the current north short-term parking lot is also likely to begin in 2024, he says. The Courtyard by Marriott was approved by the Norfolk Airport Authority in September.
"It's just something that we really need, based on the service that we have here."
A new International Processing Facility for Customs and Border Patrol is a relatively new addition to the upgrades at the airport that's also expected to break ground this year.
It comes as the airport works to add additional airlines and nonstop international service in and out. Perryman says he's in contact with several airlines.
“JetBlue is the big one," he told News 3. "We get a lot of Canadian visitors here. Great, let’s market that to those airlines, whether it’s Air Canada, (or) Flair, one of their low-cost carriers.
"We’re hoping we can make that announcement sometime this year that we will begin service internationally to the Caribbean, but we haven’t given up on Europe either.”
Eyes on '25: Departures terminal expansion, New rental car facility
The most substantial changes to Norfolk International Airport's look are expected to begin in the summer of 2025, Perryman says.
Currently, the terminal has a ticketing and baggage area on each of its north and south sides, but those will be combined into a linear ticketing area parallel to the Arrivals building.
The recommended design concept shows a large room, with floor-to-ceiling windows and a freshened up look. Perryman tells News 3 an expanded, consolidated checked bag area will help airport staff process and move luggage around the facility quicker.
"We're looking at that final placement right now," said Perryman. "Where is that optimal location for that new terminal curb front?"
He says the roughly two-year construction project will also see the airport's two TSA checkpoints for each concourse moved into the main lobby — where Burger King and other restaurants, a shop and administrative offices are currently located — and consolidated into one security screening area. He hopes to have the two glass rooms that currently house TSA turned into concession areas so travelers have more food choices after going through security.
Near where the current south short-term parking lot is, the airport is also planning to build a dedicated rental car facility with its own parking deck to help move car rental desks and vehicles out of the Arrivals building and parking garage.
"Get them out of our current garages. Another complaint I get is, 'why do the rental car people get the prime parking space in (Garage) A? That takes up our spots.' Okay, we hear you. There's also some operation issues with that as well that we want to fix," said Perryman.
He says two additional sky bridges are planned from the car rental facility to the Departures and Arrivals buildings, each with their own moving walkways.
Increasing costs and the airport's future
All of this, of course, costs money. In an update on projects last year, Perryman told News 3 the total cost was likely somewhere around $500 million.
This year, he says costs have gone up.
“We’re probably looking closer to $650-700 million, but we've also added projects," he said. "That consolidated rental car facility? That's a $120 million facility.
But he says there's an effort to have the rental car companies put up the funds for the building. It's a similar story for the airport hotel, which will be paid for by developer ORF Hospitality Partners.
As for the other projects — federal grant dollars should help, with airport cash reserves and financing largely making up the rest.
"(We will) go to the bond market and leverage our future earnings so we can borrow against that, which is very typical of airports and we're in a very good position," said Perryman, who spent more than 30 years as an airport consultant before arriving at ORF in 2022. "We have very low debt right now for an airport of our size."
He says the average cost passed onto passengers moving through the airport should be around $2 — "Two bucks on an $80 ticket? That's 82 bucks," he said.
But is this it? Are there any more construction plans further down the line? Perryman says despite all the new construction, there is room for a third concourse should growth continue at the current rate, but it's likely more than ten years down the road.
In the near future, Perryman says visitors can expect upgraded menu items at airport restaurants, and, though Norfolk airport isn't busy enough to warrant airlines operating their own lounges, he says they're looking into creating blended lounges for holders of certain credit cars.
From a selfie station to a new play area for children about to open called "KidsPort" to a new cell phone waiting lot, he tells News 3 it's all about creating a better experience for the people who come through the airport.
Last year, Norfolk International Airport was rated a "4-star" airport by international air transport rating company Skytrax. Only 21 were given five stars, and Perryman wants Norfolk to be one of them.
"Our goal is to take it from good to great. We want to be up there with the best airports, not only in this country, but in the world."
