This story was reported and written by our media partner the Virginia Mercury.
As scrutiny of flight safety intensifies nationwide, Norfolk International Airport officials say their shared airspace remains “safe,” thanks to close coordination with commercial airlines and military partners.
Questions about Norfolk’s airspace surfaced after a January collision between an American Airlines Bombardier jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River. The crash, which killed all 64 people on board the jet, occurred as the plane prepared to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Reagan operates under restricted airspace to prevent aircraft from flying near high-risk areas and must accommodate heavy military and government air traffic. It’s located near the Pentagon, the White House, and Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling.
Like Reagan, Norfolk works closely with the military — especially the Navy and Air Force — to manage constrained airspace and ensure helicopter traffic remains safely separated from its commercial runways.
“I think we are in a better situation,” said Mark Perryman, president and CEO of Norfolk International Airport, at the May 15 meeting with leaders in Hampton. “We’re not quite as congested (as DCA), although we do have a very congested airspace for an airport in a region our size, given all of the military installations, but it’s something that we have very good cooperation with the DoD and the FAA. We are safe.”
Perryman told the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization (HRTPO) that Norfolk has earned a reputation as one of the best domestic airports, expanding its nonstop flight offerings significantly over the past decade.
Del. Bonita Anthony, D-Norfolk, who sits on the HRTPO, acknowledged the heightened public interest in aviation safety. She said Norfolk’s advantage lies in the region’s long-standing civil-military coordination — something that travelers should take comfort in.
“Our airspace is safe because Hampton Roads has the strongest records of civil and military coordination in the country,” Anthony told The Mercury.
She pointed to efforts in the 1990s to install advanced radar systems and transfer control tower operations as examples of the region’s aviation leadership. Anthony, who served on the engineering team at the time, described the transfer process as intense and technically complex.
Perryman also addressed helicopter traffic in the airspace north of Norfolk’s Runway 5/23. Unlike Reagan Airport, where helicopters operate closer to the flight paths, military choppers in Norfolk fly farther north, over the Chesapeake Bay.
That distance provides “far greater vertical separation,” said airport spokesman Chris Jones — several hundred feet more than what’s typical in airspace near DCA.
In May, the FAA reduced the size of three designated helicopter operating areas near Norfolk’s approach paths, further enhancing safety.
Norfolk International Airport, originally a military field, has operated for 85 years. Within 20-miles are three military installations with runways used for fixed-wing aircraft: Naval Station Norfolk Chambers Field, Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, and Joint Base Langley-Eustis on the peninsula in Hampton.
Virginia Beach’s Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story lacks a runway but supports military helicopter traffic, Jones said.
With multiple facilities nearby and Newport News operating its own commercial airport, Hampton Roads remains a “busy region for aviation,” Jones noted, emphasizing the importance of continued collaboration.
“In a region with so many airports and air bases, this is to be expected,” Jones said. “Despite this, the conditions and practices now in place are such that they do not elicit safety concerns for travelers or military aviators.”
$5 million headed to Virginia airports
Seven airports in Virginia are set to receive a combined grant total of $5 million to support infrastructure improvements. The grants come through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration Airport Infrastructure Grant program.
U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, D-Va., have long supported improving Virginia’s airports.
“Investing in our airports means investing in safety, connectivity, and economic opportunity for communities across the Commonwealth,” said in a joint statement on June 27. “We’re proud to support these improvements that will help ensure Virginia’s airports continue to serve travelers and local economies for years to come.”
The grant awards:
$2,948,555 to the Roanoke Regional Airport Commission to upgrade taxiways B, B1, B2, B3, and B4 at the Roanoke Regional Airport;
$730,000 to the City of Suffolk to expand the terminal apron Suffolk Executive Airport to allow for a wider variety of aircrafts;
$661,200 to the Chesapeake Airport Authority to remove trees obstructing operations at the Chesapeake Regional Airport;
$260,000 to the County of Halifax to install runway end identifier lights and a precision approach path indicator system at Halifax Stanfield International Airport;
$190,000 to the Town of Farmville to reconstruct the precision approach path indicator system for Runway 3/21 at Farmville Regional Airport;
$159,000 to the Dinwiddie County Airport and Industrial Authority to construct a new hanger for aircraft storage at Dinwiddie County Airport;
$110,000 to the Town of Tangier to reseal taxiway and apron pavement prolonging their lifespan at Tangier Island Airport.