Changes are in the air for flights at Wilmington International Airport.
ILM announced Monday that United Airlines, one of three carriers at ILM along with Delta Air Lines and American Airlines, will begin a new nonstop service between Wilmington and Newark in February.
Meanwhile, another United destination at ILM, Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), appears to be off the schedule for now, according to Cirium, an aviation data company owned by LexisNexis, and ILM's website.
Cirium has a database of the flight schedules of more than 1,000 airlines around the world, a Cirium spokesman said. The airlines upload the schedules directly.
According to stories from
The Points Guy and
Simple Flying online, United is making numerous adjustments to flights, particularly in small cities.
Cirium and airport officials pointed out that flight schedules are subject to change.
The seasonal ILM flight to Chicago run by American Airlines ended in October, while the summer seasonal Delta flight to LaGuardia ended Sept. 6.
Of the American Airlines flight to Chicago, an airline spokesman said in an email Monday, "We expect to add it back to our Summer 2022 schedule."
The flights between ILM and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) are expected to start Feb. 11, according to a news release.
While ILM issued the release Monday about the addition of the Newark flight, airport officials referred questions about dropped flights to the airlines themselves. Efforts to reach Delta and United representatives about their flight schedules and destinations at ILM were not immediately successful Monday.
The Newark flights will operate twice daily on the CRJ-550. United’s CRJ-550 is the world’s first 50-seat regional aircraft "designed to offer first-class seats and amenities," according to the release from ILM about the United addition.
“Our community has long desired nonstop service to Newark for many years and we are thankful that United has chosen to provide this service,” said Gary Broughton, interim airport director, in the release. "The New York area is a top market for ILM, inbound and outbound, and we look forward to seeing strong community support for this new route.”
The release also quoted Ankit Gupta, senior vice president of domestic planning and United Express.
“The economic vitality and growth of Wilmington, North Carolina is something that United is proud to support,” Gupta said in the release. “These new routes will connect fliers from Wilmington to one of United’s busiest international hubs, making it easier not only to travel to more than 50 cities in the U.S., but also opening up access to exciting destinations in Europe, Africa and beyond.”
More information, including anticipated departure and arrival times for the Newark flight, is
available online.