North Carolina Airports Associations holds 45th annual conference in Wilmington

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Nearly a week after Avelo Airlines announced it plans to open a base of operations at Wilmington International Airport, aviation industry leaders gathered in the Port City this week.

The North Carolina Airports Association held its 45th annual conference this week at the Wilmington Convention Center, which ended on Thursday.

The conference brought together representatives from all 72 of North Carolina’s airports and featured speakers from the aviation industry.

Gage King is the vice president of the association.

He said the conference helps improve the state’s aviation industry.

“There’s very seldom do we all get together and just be able to collaborate, network together,” King said. “So this was an opportunity for people from western North Carolina, central, eastern North Carolina just to get together and build relationships. And ultimately what that does is that allows us to build a strong airport system and just be able to have a system that serves the public the best way possible.”

More than 500 people participated in the conference, the largest attendance in its history.