The airport's location on the coast, halfway between NYC and Miami, makes it a desirable and less busy entry point to the United States.

[15] The Army expanded the airfield with three new 7,000-foot runways, and after the war, deeded the site back to New Hanover County at no cost.

[17] Piedmont was the airport's only scheduled carrier as of 1975, with flights to Atlanta, Fayetteville, Jacksonville, Kinston, Myrtle Beach, New Bern, Norfolk, and Washington-National, using YS-11, FH-227 and Boeing 737 aircraft.

[19] US Airways also introduced nonstop service to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in March 2011.

[1] ILM was one of four airports along the East Coast which served as an emergency abort landing site for the Space Shuttle.

The firefighters in the training missions mainly used water to put out the fires, but carbon dioxide and other dry chemicals were also used.

[25] The soil and groundwater was found to have multiple contaminants, including benzene, ethylbenzene, total xylene, 2-methylnaphthalene, phenanthrene, chloroform, 1,2-dichloroethane, and chromium.

In 2008, the airport built a new terminal for use by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to process passengers from international flights.

[51] With passenger numbers continuing to grow rapidly, the airport began an $86 million terminal expansion project in 2018.

Phase 1 reconstructed the TSA and DHS baggage screening facilities, and was largely unseen by passengers.

Phase 3 involved renovating and expanding the concourse and TSA security checkpoint to include more gates and screening lanes.

[58] The airport received a $4 million grant from the FAA, in February 2024, to partially fund the terminal access road/curb expansion and realignment project.

[59][60] In June 2023, construction was approved on a new parking lot with 950 spaces, costing around $4.6 million, and set to be completed in March 2024.

In 1989, the North Carolina General Assembly, ratified Senate Bill 410 (Chapter 404), allowing New Hanover County to establish an airport authority.

[73] This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency