Phase 2 of ILM expansion enters final stretch with major projects opening in late 2026, early 2027

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — As the busy summer travel season winds down, thousands of passengers will continue to move through Wilmington International Airport while construction on projects designed to accommodate the airport’s rapid growth progresses.

Airport Director Jeff Bourk said the current phase of construction is nearing completion and will bring expanded parking and improved curbside access to the terminal.

The changes are part of a broader effort to modernize the airport as passenger numbers continue to climb.

Deborah O’Neill, who has lived in the Cape Fear region for nearly 30 years, said she has watched ILM transform from a small regional airport into a much busier travel hub.

“I remember before even Highway 17 was there, so I remember when this was a teeny, tiny airport when I used to come up from Calabash in the ’90s,” O’Neill said. “So I have seen a big time expansion.”

That expansion includes a new parking garage, curbfront and canopy currently under construction.

Bourk said the airport’s existing roadway infrastructure was built decades ago to accommodate far fewer passengers.

“We had that old little vertical circulation road that was built in 1990 to serve 2,300 passengers,” Bourk said. “Today, we serve 1.8 million and that’s growing, so we need a good road structure leading up to the terminal.”

The new parking garage is expected to open in November, before Thanksgiving.

The new roadway and curbfront are expected to open around the end of March 2027, before spring break. Bourk said the entire project is expected to be completed by summer 2027.

The parking garage and roadway are just part of the changes underway at ILM.

A new tunnel will run underneath the roadway, with escalators connecting passengers to a new atrium. The terminal is also receiving cosmetic upgrades, including new paint and a replacement for its existing green-and-brick roof.

More construction is already planned once the current project is complete.

“We move onto the next,” Bourk said. “We’ve started a ramp project out on the airfield, it starts right now. And then the next phase of terminal expansion will start in ’28 or early ’29.”

That next phase could add as many as four additional jetways and five new gate positions.

Despite the airport’s rapid growth, O’Neill said ILM has maintained the small-town atmosphere she appreciates while making travel more convenient for people in southeastern North Carolina.

“I travel a lot, and we can come here,” O’Neill said. “It is expanding, it is great, but it still, still has that small town feel. It’s no pressure, no problems, no long lines. It makes the world even smaller and it makes traveling easier.”

The improvements come with a significant price tag.

Bourk said the parking garage and curbfront phase will cost about $135 million — nearly half of the airport’s roughly $300 million capital improvement program.

The airport’s capital projects are funded through a combination of federal and state grants, along with airport revenue.