Officials at Wilmington International Airport will meet Monday evening with pilot tenants at the fixed base operation (FBO) currently being run by Aviat Mall. At issue is ILM’s termination of Aviat Mall’s contract because ILM officials say the operator could not fulfill its terms.

“We at the airport are really focused on what we are going to do for the pilots over there now,” airport director Julie Wilsey said Friday.

Attempts to obtain comments from Aviat Mall officials were unsuccessful.

Airport officials want to discuss what can be done at the general aviation services depot for current tenants until another FBO operator can come in, or until another solution is found, Wilsey said, adding, “I want those pilots, and those aircraft, to stay in Wilmington, and I want to relieve their anxieties. The pilots will be the focus of the conversation at our meeting.”

General aviation refers to all non-commercial aviation and can include military, private pilot, corporate and charter services.

Some current tenants of the FBO have expressed concern that Aviat Mall’s proposal was the only one considered by ILM when the contract was put up for bid in March 2014, after Aero Services could no longer meet the standards required.

At the time, then-airport director John Rosborough said that although two proposals were submitted from entities bidding on the FBO contract, only one met the requirements laid out in the airport’s request for proposal (RFP).

In the May 1 story, ILM operations manager Gary Broughton was quoted as saying that only one bid – the one from Aviat Mall – was submitted. Wilsey said Friday that another, from WFC Management, was received as well, but that the company “responded in a completely different fashion” from what was outlined in the RFP.

“We couldn’t evaluate it because they did not meet the criteria and objectives” of the RFP, she said. One example, she said, was that the RFP stated the contract would be for five years, but that WFC Management said it was asking for a 20-year contract.

WFC officials said that their company had actually operated the FBO for Aero Services for more than a year before Aero was terminated, and that WFC had all the necessary equipment, including a fuel truck, to operate the FBO itself, had its bid been accepted. The officials said WFC proposed a 20-year contract because the investment necessary to pay for amenities and services, plus the rent of the facility, was too great for only a five-year guarantee.