American Airlines announced Thursday that it is launching a Boston seasonal flight at Wilmington International Airport.

Nonstop flights between Boston (BOS) and ILM will run each Saturday from June 5 through Aug. 14, said Julie Wilsey, airport director for ILM, in an email.

The Wilmington addition is part of a summer launch of 12 new domestic routes for American Airlines from Boston and New York (JFK and LaGuardia). Asheville's airport is also on the list for the Boston flight beginning June 5 and ending Nov. 6.

In January last year, ILM announced that it had landed a seasonal nonstop Boston flight via American Airlines, on top of reaching a major milestone for 2019 of more than 1 million passengers.

That Boston flight was to have started May 9 and run through Aug. 15. But the COVID-19 pandemic, which massively impacted the airline industry and airports nationwide, halted that plan.

Wilsey said the flight is a sign of a return to pre-COVID schedules. 

"The flight is also a sign of confidence from American in the ILM market," she said.

More details are forthcoming, Wilsey said.

"We are waiting to see the flight times and aircraft type. American should have them published very soon on their website," Wilsey said. 

She added, "A great advantage for this flight is that American and JetBlue have an agreement in place to connect their networks in the Northeast. Passengers will be able to connect to JetBlue destinations from the ILM-BOS flights."

Wilsey said the Boston route is expected to be attractive to inbound and outbound leisure travelers because it' scheduled for Saturdays during the summer.

"Business travelers may find the flight schedule challenging; however, ILM hopes the service will grow to daily and then all 12 months of the year," Wilsey said. "It is a great start for ILM-BOS service."