International airport in Wilmington, North Carolina, United States
This article is about an airport in North Carolina. For the television station in Barstow, California, seeKILM. For airport in Delaware, seeWilmington Airport (Delaware).
During the calendar year of 2024, ILM served a record-high number of passengers, with 736,868 enplanements and 729,001 deplanements, totaling 1,465,869 passengers.[3] The airport has tworunways and a single terminal which has eightgates. The airport is also home to twofixed-base operators (FBO).[5] There is a 24-hourU.S. Customs and Border Protection ramp, built in 2008,[6] for international flights wishing to stop at the airport. The separate terminal was built to serve the international flights that land each year (private or charter). The airport's location on the coast, halfway between New York City and Miami, makes it a desirable and less busy entry point to the United States.[7]
Wilmington International Airport is owned byNew Hanover County, which leases the airport to the Wilmington Airport Authority.[8] The current airport director is Jeffrey Bourk, A.A.E. The New Hanover County Airport Authority has seven board members, appointed by the New Hanover County Commissioners.[9][10]
Lobby of the passenger terminal in 2020Interior design of the original terminal in 2022; now merged with the expanded terminal
The airport was namedBluethenthal Field onMemorial Day, May 30, 1928, in honor ofArthur Bluethenthal, a former All-American football player and decoratedWorld War I pilot who was the first North Carolinian to die in the war.[11][12][13][14]
In the 1950s it became known as theNew Hanover County Airport. In 1988 the airport added "International" to become known asNew Hanover County International Airport. On December 17, 1997, the New Hanover County Airport Authority changed the name to Wilmington International Airport.
Piedmont Airlines began commercial flights to Wilmington in February 1948, and used Wilmington as one of its initial crew bases. Its first route was between Wilmington andCincinnati, Ohio, with stops in Pinehurst, Charlotte, Asheville, the Tri-Cities and Lexington.[17] Piedmont was the airport's only scheduled carrier as of 1975, with flights to Atlanta, Fayetteville, Jacksonville, Kinston, Myrtle Beach, New Bern, Norfolk, and Washington-National, usingYS-11,FH-227 andBoeing 737 aircraft.[18] Piedmont was acquired byUSAir in 1989; USAir was renamed US Airways in 1997, and merged withAmerican Airlines in 2013.
In addition to flights to its main regional hub atCharlotte Douglas International Airport, US Airways introduced three daily flights between Wilmington andLaGuardia Airport in New York City during the 2000s following lobbying from the Wilmington community.[19] US Airways also introduced nonstop service toRonald Reagan Washington National Airport in March 2011.[20]American Eagle began service between Wilmington andChicago O'Hare International Airport in July 2011 after the airport authority offered two years of waived fees and marketing cost sharing. This route had been actively sought by the local business community for its connections to the West Coast and to Asia.[21] The route was discontinued on April 2, 2012, but reinstated in early 2018.[22]
In December 2024, the airport was designated as an operating base forAvelo Airlines, beginning in April 2025.[1]
ILM was one of four airports along the East Coast which served as an emergency abort landing site for theSpace Shuttle. Improvements in the orbiter's braking system reduced the previous 10,000-foot (3,000 m) runway requirement to 7,500 feet (2,300 m) enabling ILM's 8,016-foot (2,443 m) runway to serve the role.[23] ILM has also been used fortouch-and-go training flights byUnited States Air Force VIP aircraft, including theBoeing VC-25 (Air Force One),C-32 andC-40.[24]
A 1,500-square-foot (140 m2) burn pit on the airport property was named aSuperfund site on March 31, 1989.[25] The burn pit was built in 1968 and was used until 1979 for firefighter training missions. Jet fuel, gasoline, petroleum storage tank bottoms, fuel oil, kerosene, and sorbent materials from oil spill cleanups were burned in the pit. Up to 500 gallons of fuel and other chemicals were used during each firefighting training exercise. The firefighters in the training missions mainly used water to put out the fires, but carbon dioxide and other dry chemicals were also used.[25] The soil and groundwater was found to have multiple contaminants, includingbenzene,ethylbenzene,total xylene,2-methylnaphthalene,phenanthrene,chloroform,1,2-dichloroethane, andchromium.[25] The site has finishedenvironmental remediation, and the last five-year review for the site was completed in August 2013.[25] According to the EPA the site has been delisted from the national priority list.[26]
As of January 31, 2022, 107 aircraft were based at the airport. There was 67 single engine aircraft, 11 multi-engine aircraft, 21 jet engine aircraft, and 8 helicopters.[47]
For the year ending January 31, 2022, the airport had 78,237 operations, an average of 214 per day: 14% air carrier, 14% air taxi, 55% general aviation, and 17% military.[2]
Charter services include Air Wilmington, which has its own dedicated building. There are also several private and public hangars. A new international customs station was completed in 2008.[6]
As of June 13, 2022, there are twofixed-base operators providing handling services to general aviation.[5]
Security and TSA checkpoint in 2014. The checkpoint was expanded during phase 3 of terminal renovations.Entrance to the newly expanded terminal in 2022
Due to an increased number of passengers using the airport in recent years, Wilmington International Airport is undergoing many renovations and expansions. In 2008, the airport built a new terminal for use byU.S. Customs and Border Protection to process passengers from international flights.[6][48] In 2006, it built a newVisual Approach Slope Indicator ILS for Runway 6/24.[49]
In 2006, the FAA Airport Improvement Program awarded Wilmington International Airport $10,526,342. $3 million was allocated to improve runway safety areas, and $7,526,342 was allocated to expand the airport's apron area, rehabilitate Runway 6/24, and rehabilitate Taxiways B, C, and E. Runway 6/24 had not been rehabilitated in more than 30 years. Rehabilitation of Runway 17/35 was completed in 2014, and the project was honored with the Ray Brown Airport Pavement Award, which recognizes the highest-quality U.S. airfield pavement produced each year.[50]
With passenger numbers continuing to grow rapidly, the airport began an $86 million terminal expansion project in 2018. The project is divided into three phases. Phase 1 reconstructed the TSA and DHS baggage screening facilities, and was largely unseen by passengers. Phase 1 began construction in the summer of 2018, and finished construction in April 2019. Phase 2 expanded the ticketing areas and airport offices. Construction for Phase 2 began in April 2019 and was completed in summer 2020. Phase 3 involved renovating and expanding the concourse andTSAsecurity checkpoint to include more gates and screening lanes. Phase 3 began in fall 2020 and was completed in fall 2023.[51][52][53][54]
Long-term plans for the airport include various projects on improving, expanding, and renovating infrastructure around the airport. In March 2023, a five-year Vision Plan was released which ranges from 2023 to 2027, and will cost around $165 million. A majority of the improvements will focus on the entrance and parking areas of the terminal, with construction of a 1,200-space parking deck, expansion of already-existing parking lots, and realignment of Airport Boulevard planned to be completed by 2027.[55][56] Improvements to and a small expansion of the terminal are also included in the plan.[57] The airport received a $4 million grant from the FAA, in February 2024, to partially fund the terminal access road/curb expansion and realignment project.[58][59] In June 2023, construction was approved on a new parking lot with 950 spaces, costing around $4.6 million, and set to be completed in March 2024.[60] Five months later in November, Parking Lot F was completed, which has space for 500 vehicles.[61]
Wilmington International Airport is owned by New Hanover County. In 1989, theNorth Carolina General Assembly, ratified Senate Bill 410 (Chapter 404), allowing New Hanover County to establish an airport authority.[62][63] The county authorized the creation of the Wilmington Airport Authority, to assist the airport director in running the airport, on July 1, 1989.[8] The airport is leased to the airport authority from New Hanover County for $1 per year until 2049. The lease was extended another 30 years after it originally expired in 2019.[64][65]
The current airport director is Jeffrey Bourk, A.A.E., and the chair is Spruill Thompson. The New Hanover County Airport Authority has seven board members.[9][10]
On September 24, 1961, aUSAFFairchild C-123 Provider with 15 occupants aboard, including six skydivers, stalled and crashed after takeoff during an air show. There were three fatalities.[66]
On August 22, 1962, aPiedmont AirlinesMartin 4-0-4 swerved off the runway at ILM during a training flight. All three occupants survived but the aircraft was written off.[67]
On April 23, 1987, aSwearingen Metro II operating a cargo flight for Air-Lift Commuter suffered an engine failure on takeoff at ILM and crashed, killing both occupants.[70]
On May 4, 1990, aGAF Nomad arriving fromRaleigh–Durham crashed on approach to runway 34, killing both occupants.[71]
^"Senate Bill 410".North Carolina General Assembly. RetrievedAugust 13, 2023.
^North Carolina General Assembly (June 22, 1989)."Chapter 404 - Senate Bill 410"(PDF).North Carolina General Assembly. RetrievedAugust 13, 2023.
^White, Woody; Coudriet, Chris; Wurtzbacher, Lisa H. (December 5, 2014)."Comprehensive Annual Financial Report".www.nhcgov.com. New Hanover County Finance Department. p. 99. RetrievedAugust 13, 2023.
^Olsen-Boseman, Julia; Coudriet, Chris; Credle, Eric (November 30, 2022)."Annual Comprehensive Financial Report".www.nhcgov.com. New Hanover County Finance Department. p. 120. RetrievedAugust 13, 2023.
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