Hampton Roads residents planning vacations to Cancún, Mexico, no longer have to drive to Richmond or Dulles airports to get there.
Officials announced Thursday Breeze Airways will offer one nonstop flight a week to and from Cancún starting Jan. 10, 2026. Flights will leave Norfolk early in the afternoon on Saturdays with a return flight around 9 p.m. Saturday evenings, said airport CEO Mark Perryman.
“Cancún has been ORF’s top international destination every year for the last 11 years, and soon people can make that trip without having to go through a connection at another airport,” Perryman said, referring to Norfolk International by its airport code ORF, at a press conference Thursday morning.
Despite its name, Norfolk International Airport hasn’t offered international flights in decades, airport vice chair Susan Pilato said.
“ORF has not had nonstop international service since the fall of 2001, when Air Canada ended a brief run here in the aftermath of September 11,” Pilato said. “Today's news is 24 years in the making.”
Pilato said they plan to add more nonstop international flights to other destinations in the future.
Perryman teased the possibility of international flights in January, when Jetblue became the airport’s ninth carrier. Growing traffic and major infrastructure investments made the new international flights possible, Pilato said.
This June, July and August were the three busiest months ever in the airport’s 87-year history, and 2025 is shaping up to be its busiest year, the airport reported.
A $1 billion overhaul is underway to help the airport keep up with its growing traffic, though some expansion plans recently hit a snag. The Virginian-Pilot reported the authority canceled a deal to build a 168-room hotel at the airport, alleging one of the developers breached the contract.
Other plans are still on track. Construction of an international arrivals area started June 2024. Pilato said it will open early next year, “if not before the first Cancún flight, then very soon after.”