In 1938, city-owned Truxton Manor Golf Course was converted to Norfolk Municipal Airport, complete with a 3,500-foot runway, becoming the permanent home of commercial air travel. Penn Central Airlines (now United Airlines) used a renovated clubhouse for a passenger terminal. The first permanent terminal was complete by 1940.

Following WWII, the Army Air Corps returned the Airport to the city’s domain in 1948, and commercial travel took off with two airlines providing regular flights. That same year, ground was broken for a larger, more modern terminal building.

By the early 1950s, there were more daily flights in Norfolk than New York’s La Guardia Airport. The newly-established Norfolk Port and Industrial Authority (NPIA) took responsibility for airport operations in 1950. In 1951, the new Norfolk Municipal Airport terminal was dedicated.

In the 1960s, the transition from propeller driven aircraft to jets gathered full steam. In 1968, the Airport was officially recognized as the air transportation center for the region, and became known as Norfolk Regional Airport.

In 1974, NPIA dedicated a new, state-of-the-art terminal and additional land was secured for further expansion. In 1976, the Airport’s name was changed to Norfolk International Airport with the addition of Federal Customs facilities.