The Delaware River and Bay Authority announced that the Wilmington Airport (ILG) would again be categorized as a “Primary Commercial Service Airport (CSA), surpassing 10,000 boardings of commercial flights) for the second time in the past three years.
The airport hit the milestone after less than two months since service restoration on February 1st. In 2021, Wilmington Airport also shed its longstanding federal designation as a General Aviation Reliever Airport.
The designation also came when Frontier Airlines briefly added service and later exited n the spring of last year.
On February 1 Avelo Airlines began service at the Wilmington Airport with 149-seat Boeing 737 aircraft, with flights to five Florida destinations. In total, nearly 22,000 passengers have either boarded or disembarked an Avelo Airlines flight at Wilmington Airport. Flights currently operate three times a week to Orlando and twice weekly to other destinations.
Boarding figures appear to be strong for all five airports, with all five destinations clocking in with more than 3,800 passengers despite the two-per-week flights.
Having met the industry-recognized enplanement criteria associated with primary commercial service airports (10K annual enplanements), ILG will p be able to assume an annual federal primary entitlement of $1 million, a net increase of $850,000. As a General Aviation Reliever Airport, ILG previously earned a non-primary entitlement of $150,000.
“Avelo Airlines and Wilmington Airport continue to enjoy robust demand for scheduled air service to great destinations,” said Stephen D. Williams, deputy executive director of the DRBA. “The airport is the only one in Delaware to be classified as a Primary CSA, and this important designation significantly boosts eligibility for additional federal entitlement dollars. We’re proud to achieve this milestone again and if the trend in demand continues, 50,000 enplanements will be quickly on the horizon.”
2023 Enplanements at ILG
February………………………………………….. 5,300
March (as of 3/29)……………………………. ..5,966
Total Passengers at ILG
Departing Arriving Total
Fort Lauderdale (FLL) 2,013 1,742 3,755
Orlando (MCO) 3,112 2,806 5,918
West Palm Beach (PBI) 2,036 1,777 3,813
Fort Myers (RSW) 2,006 1,830 3,836
Tampa (TPA) 2,099 1,949 4,048
IIn addition to the entitlement dollars, ILG is also eligible to receive revenue from the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) program. ILG’s current program is authorized to collect up to $1.3 million until 2024. Each passenger boarding earns the airport $4.39.
The DRBA manages the Wilmington (ILG) airport.
