ILM looking for input on service to Chicago

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The airport is looking to expand. Wilmington International is getting flyer’s feedback on adding non-stop flights to Chicago. Airport officials are in talks with airlines, but they won’t say which ones.

Because 70 percent of passengers at ILM travel on business, the airport is asking local companies to fill out an online survey. The airport wants to know how often companies would take advantage of non-stop flights to Chicago if they were offered.

“It’s a very expensive process to have a new airline move in, a lot of start-up cost, just like you would with any business or industry moving into the community,” airport director Jon Rosborough said. “So what we’re doing is saying, ‘OK. Will the community, and primarily the business community, support this non-stop service if we were to get that?'”

Right now ILM offers non-stop service to New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Orlando. Eventually, the airport would like to offer flights to the other five top destinations: Boston, Washington, Dallas, Denver, and Los Angeles.