April's passenger travel at the Wilmington International Airport saw an increase of 1,481% from last April when air travel plummeted in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A total of 60,100 people traveled through ILM in April, up from nearly 3,800 last April, according to figures released by the airport.

There were just over 28,800 passengers who departed from the airport in April -- a month that saw 1,800 people flying out in April 2020. In arriving travelers, there were nearly 31,300 passengers in April, compared to nearly 2,000 passengers in the same month last year.

While the numbers are recovering the volumes continue to lag from pre-pandemic activity. In April 2019, 44,200 travelers arrived at the airport, and 45,300 departed for the month.

Heading into the Memorial Day weekend, however, there are indicators for a busy start to the summer travel season.

In addition to ILM's regular flights, Delta Air Lines' nonstop flight to LaGuardia Airport (LGA) returned in May, along with American Airlines' nonstop flight to Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD).

"ILM continues to see improvements with passengers – which is facilitated by an increase in seats and destinations than last year," ILM airport director Wilsey said in an email. "We are trending favorably as our leisure travelers and inbound tourism heads into the summer. The airlines know this trend."

For the June and July months, as the peak leisure travel season hits, ILM will have nonstop flights to LGA and Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) through American Airlines. United Airlines is anticipated to add a third, Washington-Dulles International Airport (IAD) flight, which includes an early morning flight for travelers connecting to other destinations. And Delta will continue the LGA nonstop those months, Wilsey said.

"Passengers have lots of options for their summer vacation. Like many organizations, we are busy with customers and continue to look for new employees to fill our ranks," Wilsey added. "Our CARES funding has been dedicated to paying employees and their benefits. It is challenging to provide high-quality customer service when we are short of staff."

Last year, ILM was earmarked for $19.8 million in federal funding through the CARES Act that the airport is using for continuing operations and to replace lost revenue.

ILM's parking revenue also continues to improve each month, Wilsey said, adding that April's parking revenue was 19% more than in March.

"Overall things," she said, "are generally positive with leisure and business travelers returning post-vaccination."