Business View Magazine | November 2020

155 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2020 THE WI LMINGTON INTERNAT IONAL A I RPORT says Wilsey. “We made the decision because Wilmington is growing. We said, ‘we need this; our passengers, our business travelers, and our tourists will return.’ It was funded by the North Carolina Legislature and FAA, and we kept steamrolling ahead with the project. In fact, because of the pandemic and the lighter loads in the building due to fewer flights, we accelerated the second contract and finished that phase by July 1st. We added a third lane to the checkpoint; had the outbound baggage system commissioned; and had beautiful, state- of-the-art ticket counters installed.” “We were happy to complete the second phase in July,” notes Granseur Dick, ILM’s Director of Facilities. “And I think the passengers and the airlines are very happy with it. It mainly revolved around the expansion of our ticket lobby and the expansion of our ticket offices and counters. It did provide a space for any future airline that wants to come in, but also for future growth of the three existing carriers that we have. • Social Distancing Floor Markers: Installed in order to keep a six-foot distance. • Seating Changes: Rocking chairs are spread out and placed in locations to socially distance. • Masks: Customer facing airport tenants and employees all wear masks. • Cashless, Self-Service Parking Lots: Parking lots that are credit card only have been opened, reducing the use of paper money and staff interface. • Modified Restaurant Menus: To expedite orders and reduce waiting in the gate area, Tailwind’s restaurants offer grab and go, including a few hot options that can be taken to waiting areas. Another decision was to continue work on ILM’s $60-million terminal expansion project. “That is the one capital project that we continued,”