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Wilmington International Airport is a public airport located just north of Wilmington, North Carolina, in unincorporated Wrightsboro, Cape Fear Township, New Hanover County. The airport began in 1927 as Bluethenthal Field, named for aviator Arthur Bluethenthal, the first Wilmingtonian to be killed in World War I. In the 1950s the airport became known as the New Hanover County Airport. In 1988 the airport added "International" to become known as New Hanover County International Airport. On December 17, 1997 the New Hanover County Airport Authority changed the name to Wilmington International Airport. In 2009, the airport served over 800,000 passengers. The airport has two runways and a single terminal which has eight gates. The airport is also home to three fixed base operations (FBO's) which currently house over 100 private aircraft. There is also a 24-hour US Customs ramp for international flights wishing to stop at the airport. The separate terminal was built to serve the 3,200 international flights that land each year (private or charter). The airport's location on the coast, halfway between NYC and Miami, makes it a desirable and less busy entry point to the country. Wilmington International Airport is owned by New Hanover County, North Carolina. The airport is leased to the Wilmington Airport Authority for $1 per year and expires in 2019. The current airport manager is Jon Rosborough, elected in 2001.〔http://www.flyilm.com/AboutILMAirport/GeneralInfo.aspx〕 The Wilmington Airport Authority has five board members: Chairman John D. Lennon, Vice chairman Dr. Charles R. Kays, Secretary Robert S. Rippy, Thomas C. Barber, and Dr. I. A. Roseman .〔 ==History== The airport was named Bluethenthal Field on Memorial Day, May 30, 1928, in honor of Arthur Bluethenthal, a former All American football player and decorated World War I pilot who was the first North Carolinian to die in the war. During World War II, the airfield was used by the United States Army Air Forces Third Air Force for antisubmarine patrols and training. Piedmont Airlines began commercial flights to Wilmington in February 1948, and used Wilmington as one of its initial crew bases. Its first route was between Wilmington and Cincinnati, Ohio, with stops in Pinehurst, Charlotte, Asheville, the Tri-Cities and Lexington.〔http://ncpedia.org/aviation/piedmont-airlines〕 Piedmont also operated flights from Wilmington to Roanoke and New Bern in its early years. USAir (now US Airways) acquired Piedmont in 1987 and maintains a presence at the airport today.〔http://www.usairways.com/en-US/aboutus/pressroom/history/piedmont.html〕 In addition to flights to its main regional hub at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, US Airways introduced three daily flights between Wilmington and La Guardia Airport in New York City during the 2000s following lobbying from the Wilmington community; however, following US Airways' planned transfer of La Guardia slots to Delta Air Lines, there is speculation that these flights will cease.〔http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20110526/ARTICLES/110519816?p=all&tc=pgall〕 US Airways also introduced nonstop service to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in March 2011.〔http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20110113/ARTICLES/110119820?p=all&tc=pgall〕 American Eagle began service between Wilmington and Chicago O'Hare International Airport in July 2011 after the airport authority offered two years of waived fees and marketing cost sharing. This route has also been actively sought by the local business community for its connections to the West Coast and to Asia.〔http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20110314/ARTICLES/110319818?p=all&tc=pgall〕 The route was discontinued on April 2, 2012. ILM was one of four airports along the East Coast which served as an emergency abort landing site for the Space Shuttle. Improvements in the orbiter's braking system reduced the previous runway requirement to enabling ILM's runway to serve the role.〔(NASA Names North Carolina Airport Emergency Landing Site for Shuttle )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Wilmington International Airport」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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