Dip in Air Travel Shows at Norfolk International, but Few Cuts Are Expected

By JACOB GEIGER

By Jacob Geiger

The Virginian-Pilot

NORFOLK

Passenger traffic at Norfolk International Airport dropped more than 3 percent during the first half of 2008, as a slumping economy and high fuel prices caused businesses and tourists to cut back .

A total of 1.76 million passengers flew in or out of the airport during the past six months, down from 1.82 million during the same period of 2007 .

The decline was greater in June, as air travel fell more than 4 percent against the same month a year earlier.

“This industry is subject to a lot of factors over which we have no control,” said Wayne Shank, deputy executive director of the Norfolk Airport Authority. “One’s the economy, and the other’s the price of fuel.”

Cargo shipments were also down almost 6 percent in the first half of 2008.

Some major airlines are expected to substantially cut their number of flights in the fall, but Shank said it looked like Norfolk would be spared from any major reductions.

Recently the airport lost direct service to Boston and a flight to Cleveland. But in May, Southwest Airlines added a 143-seat flight to Nashville, Tenn., and Northwest Airlines started flying a 50- seat regional jet to Memphis, Tenn.

Jacob Geiger, (757) 446-2643, jacob.geiger@pilotonline.com

Originally published by BY JACOB GEIGER.

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