Spirit Airlines is adding Norfolk International (ORF) in southeast Virginia to its route map with two routes to Florida.

The US carrier will launch two new routes on March 8, 2023, connecting the airport to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Orlando (MCO). Both sectors will be served daily.

Norfolk becomes Spirit’s second destination in in the state of Virginia alongside Richmond (RIC), which it has served since 2018.

Bobby Schroeter, SVP and chief marketing officer at Spirit, said he expects the routes to attract two-way leisure traffic, as well as offering onward connection opportunities to points in Latin America and the Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.

"Spirit Airlines' decision to enter southeastern Virginia via Norfolk International Airport is a sign of confidence in our region,” said Mark Perryman, Norfolk Airport Authority president and CEO. "Passenger demand hit all-time records this summer and 2022 is on a path to be the highest year in the airport's 84-year history.

“Spirit's new service from Norfolk to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, two of our largest markets, will be very well received within the community and we anticipate robust growth.”

According to data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser, for the week commencing Oct. 3, Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines offer ORF-MCO service, flying daily and 2X-weekly respectively. The Fort Lauderdale market is currently unserved, but American Airlines provides a 6X-weekly Norfolk-Miami (MIA) route.

Other Norfolk-Florida routes are Allegiant Air’s 2X-weekly service to Orlando Sanford (SFB); and Breeze Airways’ flights to Tampa (TPA) and West Palm Beach (PBI) operating 5X-weekly and 1X-weekly.