$5.4M In Upgrades Planned At Wilmington Airport
NEW CASTLE, DEL. (CBS) -- The New Castle County Airport just outside Wilmington is in line for a $5.4 million federal grant that will join and expand two taxiways into one that will accommodate larger aircraft in a couple of years.
Officials in Delaware are looking at the long-term future of the airport.
Over the years, there have been airlines that have tried commercial service as a possible alternative to Philadelphia, only to give up. Frontier was the last airline to provide service out of the Wilmington airport, and they stopped in 2015.
The Delaware River and Bay Authority, which operates the airport, makes no secret that they'd love to bring an airline back. Senior US Senator Tom Carper suggests the taxiway project will keep the airport competitive on that front.
"Just like the movie Field of Dreams, build it and they will come? If we don't build it, if we don't maintain it, if we don't improve it, over time we can forget about any other commercial air carrier ever wanting to come here," Carper told KYW Newsradio.
Stephen Williams serves as the DRBA airport manager and makes no secret of his desire to see that happen.
"It's an especially important part of what I think we should do so that the general community can use this airport as well," Williams said. "And so, stay tuned. We'll see what happens."
But short-term the project will help with the private and charter traffic that use this airport, along with companies located here that maintain aircraft.
More than 48 million dollars has gone to infrastructure upgrades over the last decade, including expansion of parking at the airport.
