Wilmington International Airport officials are laying the groundwork for future growth, with plans for a terminal expansion, an expanded baggage area and airfield improvements slated for the coming years.

The proposed capital projects, along with planned private investment in the airport's adjacent business park, are expected to result in investment of more than $490 million at ILM, according to Airport Director Jeff Bourk, who provided an update Tuesday during a joint meeting of the New Hanover County Airport Authority and Board of Commissioners. The airport's capital projects make up $243 million of the total expected investment.

In 2025, the airport saw more than 907,000 enplanements, or individual passengers boarding an aircraft, a 67% increase in enplanements from 2019, according to Bourk's presentation, and 1.8 million passengers overall. It also had an estimated net operating income of just over $6 million, Bourk said. 

According to Bourk's presentation, passenger forecast models project that ILM will see between 1.1 million and 1.5 million enplanements by 2045. 

Investments in the airport's infrastructure will help ensure continued growth, Bourk said. Between 2019 and today, ILM nearly doubled in size, he added, growing from around half a million enplanements per year to nearly 910,000.

“ILM is going to double again, so we’ve got to be prepared for that growth,” he said. “We’ve got to be investing in infrastructure so that airlines can come in, and we can keep that growth in the community and be truly a world-class airport.”

Work is already well underway on the second phase of a $134 million project that includes the reconfiguration of roads around the airport, the construction of the airport’s first parking garage, along with an updated terminal entrance and a longer, straightened curbfront.

The parking garage is under construction and slated for completion in October, Bourk said. The curbfront is expected to open in March 2027, with the project set to wrap up a few months later. The airport is also moving ahead with the design of a second parking garage to help keep up with the growth.

“It's going to greatly increase our parking and allow for that future parking garage next to the one that's being built,” Bourk said. “That's going to let the airport grow two or three times what it is today.”

The second garage location could support four floors, with up to 1,500 spaces, and has an estimated cost of $50 million. It would be completed in 2032 or 2033. The airport has budgeted $500,000 for the schematic design of the second garage.

Other capital projects include:

• Terminal Phase 6 - The 25,000-square-foot terminal expansion would add four new gates and would allow the airport to accommodate 1.9 million enplanements annually. The project is expected to cost $36.6 million and is currently in the design phase, Bourk said. A $12.8 million commercial ramp project that’s set to begin this fall would allow the terminal expansion to take place by expanding and reconstructing the pavement apron in the area.
• Expanded outbound and inbound baggage facilities - ILM’s outbound baggage area is currently capped out, according to Bourk. A $3.5 million project slated to start this summer will expand the outbound baggage area, while another $12.8 million project, set to take place in 2029 or 2030, will add another baggage carousel for inbound bags. It will also make room for a fourth carousel to be added in the future.
• Airfield improvements - A $25 million airfield project will resurface and rehabilitate an airport runway and is set to take place in three phases from 2026 through 2031. 
• General aviation utilities project - The $1.1 million project, currently under construction, will add water and sewer mains to the east ramp general aviation area.
• Roadway improvements - Two road projects are in the works around ILM. Design is complete for the widening of 23rd Street, a project by the N.C. Department of Transportation, and right-of-way acquisition is underway, Bourk said. The airport is spearheading the $3 million extension of Hall Drive to connect with Castle Hayne Road. Hall Drive currently ends at Blue Clay Road, and the extension will allow truck traffic to more easily enter and exit the airport’s business park, Bourk said.

Officials continue to emphasize business and air service development, according to Bourk, and have seen interest from airlines that haven’t looked at ILM before. Last year, the airport saw the launch of service from Breeze Airways and JetBlue, but it also saw Avelo Airlines cut flights and close its local base of operations.

Bourk said some of the biggest challenges facing ILM are external factors that are out of the airport's control, such as the economy and currently rising fuel prices.

“ILM will see ups and downs in terms of growth,” Bourk said. “We’ve had strong growth for the last four years. I don’t think ‘26 is going to be a huge growth year, but ‘27, ‘28, ‘29 will be, so we've got to just keep our eye on that.”