The Delaware River and Bay Authority Thursday added more details on its parking lot expansion at Wilmington Airport.
As previously announced, the DRBA purchased the balance of a lease interest in the Skyways Motor Lodge, a long-time tenant. The buyout cost for the six-acre tract, which included a long-vacant Damon’s Grill building, was $4.15 million.
“With Avelo’s growing popularity, airport parking was quickly becoming a scarce commodity,” said DRBA Executive Director Thomas J. Cook. “Expanding airport parking options along with improvements to our airport terminal are needed to handle existing customer demand. We want to make sure Wilmington remains the airport of choice for people in Delaware, South Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland who seek quality service and a convenient, hassle-free airport experience.”
When the buildings are demolished, and the site is cleared, 500 new parking spaces will be added for airport customers in the near term. The MedExpress urgent care site site is not included in the lease buyout.
The DRBA plans to use the space to provide temporary parking for passengers. It has included the new project in its 2024 Capital Improvement Plan, which is expected to cost $2.85 million in 2024 and slightly more than $500,000 in 2025. In addition, the 2024 budget programs the design of a permanent parking expansion project to be constructed in later years.
Plans are also in the works for overhauling and expanding the 1950s-era terminal and adding another boarding gate. Federal funding is required for that project. (See rendering below).
Wilmington Airport currently has three passenger service lots with a total capacity of more than 800 vehicles. A real-time availability site can be viewed on www.flyilg.com.
In August 2023, the DRBA opened the long-vacant Parking Lot C to handle the customer demand for parking and launched a free shuttle service from that lot to the terminal building. During peak travel, a seasonal shuttle service is provided between Lot C and the terminal.
Avelo currently operates seven regular and two seasonal round-trip routes at ILG. The airline generated record-breaking 2023 passenger traffic at ILG with 131,959 enplaned passengers and 129,456 deplaned passengers. The seasonal flight schedule has been reduced in 2024, much to the disappointment of some travelers and led to online speculation that Avelo might follow the lead of Frontier Airlines and pull out of the airport.
Despite those concerns, most Florida routes remain in place, with seasonal service to follow. Avelo also offers twice weekly fights to Puerto Rico. For more on Avelo’s plans, click on the headline below:
