Wilmington airport terminal to triple in size with $5.6M federal grant

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The Delaware River and Bay Authority unveiled plans to triple the size of the terminal at Wilmington Airport.

With roots dating back to World War II, Delaware’s Wilmington Airport (ILG) has undergone many transformations over the years. The most impactful came when the county leased the airport to the DRBA for 30 years, which set the stage for significant infrastructure investments.

Since Avelo Airlines restarted commercial passenger flights out of Wilmington Airport in 2022, the airport has struggled to meet demand because of limited aircraft and terminal capacity. However, that’s set to change with the upcoming expansion, according to DRBA Executive Director Thomas J. Cook.

“We have a terminal right now that can really only fit one plane full of customers at a time. Which really extends out to at least a 90-minute period where you can’t have the next flight come along,” he said. “So this [expansion] really takes the size of the terminal and expands it threefold to 7,500 square feet.”

This week, officials celebrated the groundbreaking on the project thanks to a $5.6 million federal grant from the bipartisan infrastructure bill that will fund more than half of the project’s total cost of nearly $10 million.

The soon to be 7,500-square-foot terminal will provide a more flexible schedule and enhanced customer experience, including additional passenger gates, improved baggage handling, an extra security lane for faster Transportation Security Administration screening and more amenities.

“And it addresses one of the biggest concerns that I hear from everyone, ‘Can we have more than just vending machine options here at the airport?’ It actually gives us multiple food and beverage opportunities for our customers,” he added.

With a target completion date in fall 2025, the project seeks to significantly boost yearly visitation and forge partnerships with other commercial air services.

“Currently, we’re about close to 300,000 [customers] a year. We think that that can literally increase dramatically as we expand these opportunities. It may even bring up other commercial air service to the airport,” he said.

To enhance the travel experience, Wilmington Airport is launching a new landline service Oct. 7, allowing customers to park and take a motor coach to Philadelphia International Airport to connect to American Airlines flights. In November, a new Avelo plane will join the fleet flying out of Wilmington.