NORFOLK — Norfolk International Airport announced it has informed pilots they can no longer utilize its Runway 14/32 for takeoffs or landings.
ORF said it marks the latest step in the airport’s effort to permanently close the little-used crosswind runway as the airport prepares to redevelop properties it owns both on and adjacent to the existing airfield.
Just 4,876 feet in length, ORF said runway 14/32 is too short to accommodate most commercial aircraft types presently operating at the airport, accounting for less than 1% of the airport’s annual operations in recent years. At 9,001 feet, ORF said its adjacent Runway 05/23 has sufficient capacity to serve the needs of airlines and general aviation users in the region for the foreseeable future.
ORF cited an Environmental Assessment performed in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration that evaluated and ruled out alternatives to a full closure, including extending or shortening the runway. Those alternative were ruled as too costly with limited benefits and conflicts with nearby roads and railways.
The runway’s closure will also reduce airspace conflicts with Naval Air Station Oceana, the airport said.
In the coming months, staff and contractors will remove portions of the runway’s pavement, airfield lighting and navigational aids. It added crews are already developing a new airport entrance intersection that will tie into Robin Hood Road, which is being realigned across the property the runway now occupies.
Plans for other airport-owned properties could include development of a new cargo terminal and apron, a new de-icing apron, as well as additional general aviation hangars, but nothing has been finalized. Off-airport properties could be converted into commercial, light industrial or residential uses that will generate new tax revenues for the cities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach, the airport added.
ORF is in the early stages of a nearly $1 billion modernization effort known as Transform ORF. A three-gate extension of Concourse A as well as a new international arrivals facility will open this winter, with further improvements to follow over the next several years, it said.
ORF notes it served more than 4.86 million passengers last year. Its nine airlines offer nonstop service that connects Coastal Virginia and northeastern North Carolina to more than 40 nonstop U.S. destinations.
