The Wilmington International Airport went through some big changes this year to make more room for travelers and possibly one day, a fourth carrier.
A $60 million renovation and expansion project is well underway with 50% of the second phase of work completed in early December, said Granseur Dick, ILM’s facilities director. The first phase of the work wrapped in March.
The second phase began in April and adds 15,000 square feet of new space for airline operations and passengers. The project includes renovated ticket offices, expanded areas around check-in kiosks and a baggage system for checked luggage, according to ILM.
This fall, ILM reduced the project’s scope by $3 million to keep its final phase of work and contract with Monteith Construction Corp. within budget.
The final phase includes renovating the existing terminal and adds about 69,600 square feet of space, according to a recent figure. The work will build a new concourse, expand the TSA checkpoint area and add additional gates, as well as more dining and retail space to the airport.
“We’re excited about starting contract three at the beginning of the 2020 calendar year,” Dick said.
Much of the construction so far has been behind the scenes and outside of the airport. But travelers will begin to notice changes inside the terminal early next year, he said.
“People are going to start seeing things happening in the airline ticket offices probably in February,” Dick said.
The last phase is slated to be completed by late 2022.
“We’re going to end up with a terminal that gives us additional capacity to handle more passengers and more flights in the future,” Dick said.
ILM’s passenger traffic recently hit a new record, with figures reaching more than 980,700 passengers flying to and from the airport as of November. That’s a 5% increase from the 2018 year-end record of just over 934,000 passengers.
Now ILM will look to its goal to reach 1 million passengers in 2019.
“We have a high level of confidence we will break a million passengers,” Julie Wilsey, ILM’s airport director, said this month, adding that December’s figures and year-end totals won’t be available until Jan. 15.
Also this year, ILM implemented a new parking space system and selected consultants to study its current and future parking needs. The report is complete, and airport officials are reviewing recommendations, Dick said.
The airport also hired another consultant firm to help grow its flights, including a push to find an inbound destination, and possibly a low-cost carrier, that might bring more visitors to the area.
The airport’s business park has grown in its number of tenants this year. ILM will continue recruiting developers for an airport hotel, a gas station and a warehouse/distribution facility.
For a full list of the top stories of 2019, click here.
