Norfolk International Airport
airport in Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk International Airport (IATA: ORF, ICAO: KORF, FAA LID: ORF), is a regional commercial and cargo airport located seven miles (11 km) northeast of downtown Norfolk, Virginia. It is owned and operated by the Norfolk Airport Authority, a bureau under the municipal government. The airport serves the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of southeast Virginia (along with Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport in Newport News) as well as northeast North Carolina.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 2025 categorized it as a small hub airport that serves both commercial and cargo operations.
In 2024, Norfolk International Airport was the 65th busiest airport in the United States with a passenger count of 2,444,897 people. This is a 5.34% increase from 2023. It is the third-busiest airport in Virginia in terms of passengers served annually, behind Dulles International Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, but just ahead of Richmond International.
History
1920s
In 1926, Norfolk citizens experienced their first commercial flights on the Mitten Line, operated by Philadelphia Rapid Transit Air Service, Inc. The service offered round-trip flights to Washington and Philadelphia for a brief period before high costs led to its discontinuation. In 1929, Ben Epstein, a World War I veteran pilot, established an air taxi service between Norfolk and Richmond from his airfield on Granby Street.
The public source identifies “Norfolk International Airport” as airport in Norfolk, Virginia. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Norfolk, International and Airport.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Norfolk International Airport”, the useful work is to connect “airport in Norfolk, Virginia” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1432196. Authority coordinates are 36.895, -76.201. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2025, 2024, 2023 and 1926.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Norfolk International Airport”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Norfolk International Airport primary sources, Norfolk International Airport archive and Norfolk research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Norfolk International Airport”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Norfolk International Airport” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.