Avelo Airlines plans to cut nine nonstop flights and close its base at Wilmington International Airport, according to company officials.
The budget airline will continue its service to four destinations, including Nashville, Tennessee (BNA), New Haven, Connecticut (HVN), Tampa, Florida (TPA) and Washington, D.C./Baltimore, Maryland (BWI).
“The four destinations we’ll continue to serve (HVN, TPA, BNA, BWI) have shown continuous booking strength and perform well,” Courtney Goff, the airline’s communications manager, wrote in an email to the Business Journal on Wednesday.
Six of the nine flights cut by Avelo are served by ILM’s other airlines, according to Erin McNally, ILM's marketing, air service development and PR manager. The airport's other airlines include American Airlines, Delta, United, Breeze, JetBlue and Sun Country. Goff said that played a role in their cancellation.
“ILM is also not a protected airport,” she wrote, “and most of the affected routes cannot handle more than one airline serving them due to demand.”
Goff added that the airline is considering three to five destinations for future seasonal service, provided demand and new aircraft are available to support them.
“This change by Avelo is not related to market performance. ILM remains strong and will continue to grow," ILM Airport Director Jeff Bourk wrote in a statement. "Over the past four years, ILM’s passenger volume has increased from 1.1M to 1.8M passengers – representing 63% growth."
"Even if we reduce passenger numbers based on Avelo’s announcement, we would still have grown by 52%," Bourk added. "Looking ahead, some of this capacity will be absorbed by other carriers flying at ILM. Construction will continue in order to keep pace with both the community’s growth and ILM’s growth and demand.”
Avelo began service at ILM in June 2022, starting with three flights. In the following years, it added a slate of new destinations, operating 17 non-stop flights out of Wilmington at its peak.
The airline launched a base of operations at ILM in April 2025, which included two planes based at the airport and about 50 employees. The base closure stems from a streamlining of Avelo’s fleet, according to Goff.
The number of furloughed employees from the Wilmington base is currently in flux, Goff wrote, due to the relocation of crew members to Avelo's other bases.
According to a news release issued Tuesday, the airline recently underwent a recapitalization and “is now one of the strongest in the U.S. airline industry relative to its size. The airline will use this cash infusion and balance sheet strength to execute its long-term strategy.”
The news release also outlined the Avelo's plans to streamline its network around four current bases – New Haven, Connecticut (HVN), Philadelphia / Delaware Valley (ILG), Charlotte/Concord, North Carolina (USA) and Central Florida/Lakeland (LAL) – with plans to open a fifth base in Dallas/McKinney, Texas (TKI) in late 2026.
That streamlining resulted in the closure of Avelo’s base at ILM, along with bases at Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina (RDU) and Mesa, Arizona (AZA), according to the news release.
The release states that Avelo’s fleet will be modified by the removal of six Boeing Next-Generation 737-700 aircraft, leaving the airline primarily operating with Boeing Next-Generation 737-800 aircraft.
“These changes enable Avelo to focus on sustainably scaling five core bases in 2026,” the release states, “and to prepare the company for growth in the coming years, facilitated by the company’s recent order for up to 100 Embraer 195-E2 aircraft.”
Customers affected by the flight cancellations will be contacted directly by email and text. Those needing additional help are encouraged to reach out to Avelo’s Customer Support Center.
