Norfolk International Airport will get a lot more grungy starting next summer with the addition of nonstop daily flights to Seattle with Alaska Airlines, the airport announced Thursday.
Seattle was the largest U.S. market the Norfolk airport didn’t have a nonstop flight to, and Alaska Airlines was the only major U.S. airline that didn’t stop in Norfolk, according to airport president and CEO Mark Perryman. This new route will also allow for one-stop flights to Honolulu, Hawaii, thanks to Alaska Airlines’ parent company acquiring Hawaii Airlines in 2023, and also puts the airport — known as ORF — in a better position to attract its first nonstop transatlantic flight, according to Susan Pilato, chair of the Norfolk Airport Authority’s Board of Commissioners.
“It’s credibility,” Pilato said of what this move means for the airport. “(Other airlines) are watching the cooperation that we have amongst leadership, businesses and cities. So it’s extremely important for the cities to cooperate and the business community to cooperate so that airlines see this as a viable place for them to consider.”
ORF’s recent moves — like expanding Concourse A and building a new international arrivals terminal — are part of a “if you build it, they will come” theory for making nonstop transatlantic flights a reality, Pilato said.
Nonstop daily flights to Seattle will begin June 10, 2027, and will be available year-round, according to Pilato. Flights will leave Seattle at 7:55 a.m. and arrive in Norfolk at about 4:15 p.m., then leave for Seattle at about 5:16 p.m. to arrive at about 8 p.m. PST.
An average of 93 passengers a day travel both to and from Seattle from Norfolk, which is about 40 more passengers than the next most popular city, according to airport spokesperson Chris Jones. Passengers can currently get to the Emerald City with only one connection but it’s a “challenge” logistically, Jones said.
Perryman said the new nonstop daily routes to Seattle will cause the number of daily passengers to grow because it creates “certainty there and certainty back.” He added this new route could also open the door to nonstop year-round flights to San Diego, a major military destination, which he said Alaska Airlines has expressed interest in. Norfolk’s airport currently only offers seasonal flights to San Diego with Breeze Airways.
The airport made the announcement with a video showing major landmarks in Seattle set to Nirvana’s iconic “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” The deal was in the works for about two years before being finalized in October, according to Jones.
The route was announced along with four other new Alaska Airlines nonstop flights to and from Seattle starting next year. The other cities are Charlotte, Jacksonville, Des Moines and Guadalajara, Mexico.
The deal may have come together thanks in part to severe thunderstorms that hit the northeast in July and caused multiple Alaska Airlines planes to stop at ORF to refuel, according to Perryman. He said airport staff took pictures of the planes at ORF’s gates and sent them to Alaska Airlines officials saying, “Don’t these look nice here?”
“It’s the little things — we keep reminding them who we are, why we’re here, and then provide them with the data,” Perryman said. “They’re very excited about ORF … so I could see a lot of potential for this airline, not just for Seattle but other locations.”
Gavin Stone, 757-712-4806, gavin.stone@virginiamedia.com