WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Avelo Airlines unveiled three new destinations flying out of Wilmington International Airport during a Wednesday announcement.
Soon, travelers can fly nonstop to Nashville, Tennessee, Manchester, New Hampshire, and Rochester, New York with one-way fares starting at $44.
In a significant milestone for ILM, Avelo also revealed plans to base an aircraft at the airport starting in April—marking the first time a commercial aircraft will be stationed at ILM.
Trevor Yealy, Avelo’s head of commercial, said since the airline started flying out of ILM in 2022, it’s become their largest non-base airport.
“So, it was almost a foregone conclusion that hey, what we’re doing here is working, working well,” Yealy explained. “Customers like it and they seem to want more of it, why not make it a base and continue investing in the region and adding more nonstop opportunities where people don’t have access to flights today.”
Yealy said a second aircraft will also be based at the airport later in 2025.
“And so that creates up to 50 jobs typically per airplane as we add more,” Yealy added.
Airport Director Jeff Bourke said the airline expansion aligns well with ILM’s larger plan to accommodate growth in the area. A terminal expansion and additional parking are currently in the works.
“All of those things are leading us to be able to accommodate this growth by Avelo and other airlines as well,” Bourke said.
As ILM gears up for another year of improvements, Bourke said that growth is made easy by all that Wilmington has to offer.
“Airports are just a utility to get those people to that business destination or to that visitor place. And you can’t do that without a great destination and a great business community, and we have all that,” Bourke noted.