New Hanover County International Airport
Wilmington International Airport was officially named what in 1988?
Wilmington International Airport Wilmington International Airport is a public airport located just north of Wilmington , North Carolina , in unincorporated Wrightsboro , Cape Fear Township , New Hanover County . ILM covers 1,800 acres ( 728 ha ) . During the calendar year 2018 ILM had a record high number of passengers with 470,255 enplanements and 463,803 deplanements , totaling 934,058 passengers . The airport has two runways and a single terminal which has eight gates . The airport is also home to a fixed-base operation ( FBO ) . There is a 24-hour US Customs and Border Protection ramp 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 airports location on the coast , halfway between NYC and Miami , makes it a desirable and less busy entry point to the United States , with the recent addition of a 24-hour US Customs ramp , which was completed in 2008 . Wilmington International Airport is owned by New Hanover County , North Carolina . The airport is leased to the Wilmington Airport Authority for $1 per year and expires in 2019 . The current Airport Director is Julie Wilsey , AAE . The New Hanover County Airport Authority has seven board members , appointed by the New Hanover County Commissioners . History . The airport was named Bluethenthal Field on Memorial Day , May 30 , 1928 , in honor of Arthur Bluethenthal , a former All-American football player and decorated World War I pilot who was the first North Carolinian to die in the war . During World War II , the airfield was used by the United States Army Air Forces Third Air Force for antisubmarine patrols and training using P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft . The Army expanded the airfield with three new 7,000-foot runways , and after the war , deeded the site back to New Hanover County at no cost . In the 1950s the airport became known as the New Hanover County Airport . In 1988 the airport added International to become known as New 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 and Cincinnati , Ohio , with stops in Pinehurst , Charlotte , Asheville , the Tri-Cities and Lexington . Piedmont was the airports only scheduled carrier as of 1975 , with flights to Atlanta , Fayetteville , Jacksonville , Kinston , Myrtle Beach , New Bern , Norfolk and Washington-National , using YS-11 , FH-227 and Boeing 737 aircraft . Piedmont was acquired by USAir in 1989 ; USAir was renamed US Airways in 2005 , and merged with American Airlines in 2015 . In addition to flights to its main regional hub at Charlotte Douglas International Airport , US Airways introduced three daily flights between Wilmington and La Guardia Airport in New York City during the 2000s following lobbying from the Wilmington community . US Airways also introduced nonstop service to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in March 2011 . American Eagle began service between Wilmington and Chicago OHare 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 . The route was discontinued on April 2 , 2012 , but reinstated in early 2018 after the US Airways merger . ILM was one of four airports along the East Coast which served as an emergency abort landing site for the Space Shuttle . Improvements in the orbiters braking system reduced the previous runway requirement to enabling ILMs 8,016-foot ( 2,443 m ) runway to serve the role . ILM has also been used for touch-and-go training flights by United States Air Force VIP aircraft , including the Boeing VC-25 ( Air Force One ) , C-32 and C-40 . Superfund site . A burn pit on the airport property was named a Superfund site on March 31 , 1989 . 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 . The soil and groundwater was found to have multiple contaminants , including benzene , ethylbenzene , total xylene , 2-methylnaphthalene , phenanthrene , chloroform , 1,2-dichloroethane , and chromium . The site has finished environmental remediation , and the last five-year review for the site was completed in August 2013 . According to the EPA the site has been unlisted from the national priority list . Accidents and incidents . - On August 22 , 1962 , a Piedmont Airlines Martin 4-0-4 swerved off the runway at ILM during a training flight . All three occupants survived but the aircraft was written off . - On October 4 , 1975 , a twin-engine Cessna 310 piloted by 28 year old Vietnam vet Joseph Michael Farkas and arriving from Charlotte , NC crashed short of the field after running out of fuel . The flight was carrying passengers Professional Wrestling promoter David Crockett and wrestlers Tim Woods , Bobby Bruggers , then-U.S . Heavyweight champion Johnny Valentine , and Ric Flair . The pilot died after a two-month stay in New Hanover Regional Hospital , all passengers survived with various injuries . - On April 23 , 1987 , a Swearingen Metro II operating a cargo flight for Air-Lift Commuter suffered an engine failure on takeoff at ILM and crashed , killing both occupants . - On May 4 , 1990 , a GAF Nomad arriving from Raleigh-Durham crashed on approach to runway 34 , killing both occupants . Other operations . As of August 2011 , Wilmington International Airport has 134 aircraft that are based at the Airport . There are 100 single engine aircraft , 27 multi-engine aircraft , 7 jet engine aircraft , and 3 helicopters For the period ending September 30 , 2015 , the airport had 129,807 operations , an average of 355 per day : 11% air carrier , 26% air taxi , 49% general aviation , and 14% military . Charter services include Air Wilmington . Air Wilmington has its own dedicated building . There are also several private and public hangars . A new international customs station was completed in 2008 . Recent and Future Improvements . Wilmington International Airport is undergoing many improvements and additions to attract more business to the Airport and to improve the experience of passengers travels . The Airport has built a new terminal to be used by United States Customs and Border Protection to process passengers from international flights . Wilmington International has also built a new Visual Approach Slope Indicator ILS for Runway 24 . The Airport has recently upgraded its outdated ventilation system with a new , more efficient system in the main terminal . 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 Airports 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 . 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 Summer 2018 , and finished construction in April 2019 . Phase 2 will expand the ticketing areas and airport offices . Construction for Phase 2 began in April 2019 and is expected be complete in Summer 2020 . Phase 3 will involve renovating and expanding the concourse and TSA checkpoint to include more gates and screening lanes . Phase 3 is scheduled to begin in Fall 2020 and be complete in early 2022 . Governance . Wilmington International Airport is owned by New Hanover County . In 1987 , New Hanover County created the New Hanover County Airport Authority to assist the airport director in running the Airport . The Airport is leased to the Airport Authority from New Hanover County for $1 per year until the year 2019 . The current Airport Director is Julie Wilsey , AAE and the Deputy Director is Gary Broughton , CM . The New Hanover County Airport Authority has seven board members .