Easter 2025. I’m visiting my uncle and aunt in Leland, North Carolina. It’s my first trip of two to the United States in 2025. I haven’t seen them live since February 2020 just before the first lockdown and I haven’t travelled to this area since 2019. I’m flying with SAS and Delta. The itinerary: Brussels in Belgium – Copenhagen in Denmark – Atlanta in Georgia – Wilmington in North Carolina.  

My uncle and aunt live in Leland, five miles or eight kilometres west of Wilmington. And Wilmington has an airport. Sp when I visit them, it makes sense to fly to Wilmington International Airport.

Wilmington International Airport

Wilmington International Airport (ILM) is a public airport located just north of Wilmington, in unincorporated Wrightsboro. The airport covers 1,800 acres (728 hectares) and has two runways and a single terminal with eight gates. Two fixed-base operators (FBOs) are located on site. A 24-hour U.S. Customs and Border Protection ramp, built in 2008, allows international flights, both private and charter, to land. 

The airport’s coastal position between New York City and Miami makes it an attractive, less congested entry point into the United States. Wilmington International Airport is owned by New Hanover County and leased to the Wilmington Airport Authority. The current airport director is Jeffrey Bourk, A.A.E. (Accredited Airport Executive), and the Airport Authority comprises seven board members appointed by the New Hanover County Commissioners.

In 2024, Wilmington International Airport served a record 1,465,869 passengers, with 736,868 enplanements and 729,001 deplanements. 

In December 2024, Avelo Airlines designated ILM as an operating base, with operations beginning in April 2025.

History

The airport’s history dates back to Memorial Day, 30 May 1928, when it was dedicated as Bluethenthal Field in honour of Arthur Bluethenthal, a former All-American football player and World War I pilot from North Carolina. 

During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces used the field for anti-submarine patrols and training, expanding the facility with three 7,000-foot runways. 

After the war, the site was deeded back to New Hanover County at no cost. In the 1950s, it became New Hanover County Airport, later renamed New Hanover County International Airport in 1988, and then Wilmington International Airport on 17 December 1997.

Commercial service began in February 1948 with Piedmont Airlines, which made Wilmington one of its initial crew bases. By 1975, Piedmont was the airport’s only scheduled carrier. Piedmont merged with USAir in 1989; USAir became US Airways in 1997 and merged with American Airlines in 2013. Service to New York’s LaGuardia Airport and Washington–National Airport was added during the 2000s. American Eagle briefly launched a route to Chicago O’Hare in 2011, which was reinstated in 2018 after an earlier suspension.

Space

Wilmington International Airport was designated one of four East Coast emergency landing sites for the Space Shuttle, with its 8,016-foot runway meeting revised orbiter requirements. It has also been used for United States Air Force VIP aircraft training, including for the Boeing VC-25 (Air Force One), C-32, and C-40 aircraft.

In 1989, a 1,500-square-foot burn pit used for firefighter training between 1968 and 1979 was designated a Superfund site. Soil and groundwater contamination included benzene, ethylbenzene, xylene, and other chemicals. Remediation was completed, and the site was delisted from the National Priorities List.

Airlines

Passenger airlines operating at Wilmington International Airport include American Airlines, American Eagle, Avelo Airlines, Breeze Airways, Delta Air Lines, Delta Connection, JetBlue, Sun Country Airlines, and United Express. 

American and Delta dominate service, with American Airlines alone accounting for 22.9% of the airport’s market share between November 2023 and October 2024. 

Avelo Airlines and Breeze Airways offer a growing number of destinations, including Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, and Orlando. 

Seasonal services link Wilmington to cities such as Boston, Minneapolis, and Chicago.

(Other) destinations

As of April and May 2025, year-round destinations from ILM include Atlanta (ATL), Baltimore-Washington (BWI), Charlotte (CLT), Dallas / Fort Worth (DFW), Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Fort Myers (RSW), Hartford (BDL), Houston (HOU), Miami (MIA), Nashville (BNA), New Haven (HVN), New York–LaGuardia (LGA), Newark (EWR), Orlando (MCO), Philadelphia (PHL), Rochester (ROC), Tampa (TPA), Washington–National (DCA), Washington–Dulles (IAD), and Wilmington, Delaware (ILG).

Seasonal destinations include Boston (BOS), Chicago–O’Hare (ORD), Denver (DEN), Detroit (DTW), Long Island / Islip (ISP), Manchester, New Hampshire (MHT), Minneapolis–St. Paul (MSP), and Providence (PVD).

Cargo

Cargo services are provided by DHL Aviation, FedEx Feeder, and UPS Airlines, with destinations including Charlottesville, Greensboro, Kinston, and Raleigh–Durham.

As of 31 January 2022, the airport was home to 107 based aircraft, including 67 single-engine planes, 11 multi-engine aircraft, 21 jets, and eight helicopters. In the same year, there were 78,237 aircraft operations, averaging 214 per day, comprising 55% general aviation, 17% military, 14% air taxi, and 14% air carrier.

Growth

In response to continued passenger growth, the airport has invested heavily in infrastructure improvements. In 2008, a new customs terminal was completed. Significant rehabilitation works have taken place since 2006, including upgrades to runways, taxiways, and apron areas. 

The airport won the Ray Brown Airport Pavement Award for its 2014 rehabilitation of Runway 17/35. An $86 million terminal expansion project began in 2018, adding new TSA facilities, expanding ticketing and airport offices, and enlarging the concourse. The final phase was completed in autumn 2023.

A Vision Plan announced in March 2023 outlines $165 million in developments through 2027, including the construction of a 1,200-space parking deck, expansion of parking lots, and realignment of Airport Boulevard. 

A $4 million grant awarded in February 2024 will assist with the terminal access road and curb expansion. A new 950-space parking lot, approved in June 2023, was completed in March 2024, while another parking facility, Lot F, opened in November 2024 with 500 spaces.

Wilmington International Airport’s governance is based on Senate Bill 410 (Chapter 404) ratified in 1989, which authorised New Hanover County to establish the Wilmington Airport Authority. The authority leases the airport from the county for $1 per year, with the current lease running through 2049.

Several accidents have occurred at the airport. These include a 1961 USAF C-123 Provider crash during an air show, a 1962 Piedmont Airlines Martin 4-0-4 runway incident, and a 1975 Cessna 310 crash involving professional wrestlers, in which pilot Joseph Michael Farkas later died. Other incidents include the fatal crashes of an Air-Lift Commuter Swearingen Metro II in 1987 and a GAF Nomad in 1990.

Wilmington International Airport has also featured in popular culture, with scenes from the television series ‘One Tree Hill‘ filmed inside the terminal.

The airport today

The airport has a single terminal building with nine gates. Amenities at ILM include dining and retail options, rental car services, conference rooms, and free Wi-Fi throughout the terminal. 

The architectural style of Wilmington International Airport can be described as modern and functional, with elements of coastal and regional design that reflect its location in southeastern North Carolina.

The terminal has a clean, streamlined appearance with large windows allowing natural light to fill the interior, giving it a bright and airy feel. 

Neutral colour palettes with coastal tones — like soft blues and sandy hues — are used throughout to create a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere.

I have travel via ILM on two or three visits to my family and now on the return journey in April it felt almost ‘crowded’. I know it does’t show on the photos. But it’s still efficient. 

North Carolina 2025

1. REVIEW | SAS Scandinavian Airlines System – Brussels to Copenhagen – economy – Embraer E195LR.
2. REVIEW | SAS Scandinavian Airlines System – Copenhagen to Atlanta – economy – Airbus A330.
3. REVIEW | Delta Air Lines – Atlanta to Wilmington – economy – Boeing 717.
4. NORTH CAROLINA | Wilmington Riverwalk.
5. NORTH CAROLINA | Walmart Supercenter Leland.
6. WILMINGTON | USS North Carolina – Costco – Tidewater Oysters – Lewis Strawberry Nursery and Farm.
7. CAPE FEAR | Fort Fisher in North Carolina.