Coastal Motel Nearby

Wilmington International Airport (IATA: WIL, ICAO: KWIH) is a public airport three miles east of Wilmington, North Carolina. It is the largest city in New Hanover County and is the principal commercial airport in southeastern North Carolina. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a "primary commercial service" airport. It was ranked as the 27th busiest airport in the United States by passenger traffic.

The Wilmington Airport Authority was created on December 18, 1959, with the enactment of North Carolina General Assembly Bill 932. The original Board consisted of Dr. T.L. Jones (Chairman), J.R. Gamble (Vice Chairman), S.H. McMillan, C.L. Lewis, and J.D. Anderson (Board Members). The original land area for the airport was 9 square miles and was located just north of present-day Wilmington International Boulevard on U.S Highway 15N.

In 1961, Wilmington Municipal Airport was transferred from its namesake city to the authority and in 1962 a 600 foot long runway was constructed at a cost of $500,000 - making it one of the nation's first privately financed general aviation airports with revenues generated through landing fees and aircraft rental operations which are still conducted today by Atlantic Aviation Corporation at Terminal A adjacent to I-40 Exit 277B).

In 1963 Air France began flying into Wilmington from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport