It will become a lot easier to get to two major cities in the United States from Delaware this coming winter.
Avelo Airlines is adding routes from Wilmington Airport to Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and Chicago O’Hare International Airport in 2026, the company announced in a press release on Nov. 12. Avelo Airlines is a quickly growing airline and the only commercial airline operating out of Wilmington Airport.
The route to Atlanta will begin Feb. 12, 2026, with five flights per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays. Hartsfield-Jackson Airport is the busiest in the world.
You’ll be able to fly in an Avelo plane to Chicago starting March 12, 2026, with four flights per week on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Once these routes get going, there will be 14 nonstop routes from the tiny Wilmington Airport.
Since the airline started to fly out of Wilmington Airport in 2023, which is technically near New Castle, it has flown more than 750,000 customers on more than 5,500 flights, according to Avelo. The airline will also be employing a new Boeing 737 aircraft in March 2026.
Avelo controversy
The airline’s convenience to Delawareans has been its main selling point, but it has fallen into some controversy in the past year and it began working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement by flying detained immigrants out of the country from Mesa, Arizona.
“We realize this is a sensitive and complicated topic. After significant deliberations, we determined this charter flying will provide us with the stability to continue expanding our core scheduled passenger service and keep our more than 1,100 Crewmembers employed for years to come,” said Avelo’s founder and CEO, Andrew Levy, in a statement earlier this year.
Since that came to light, protests lined Dupont Highway outside of Wilmington Airport, urging people not to use the airline until they change their policy and demanding Avelo to stop working with ICE. Wilmington city council recently passed a resolution urging Mayor John Carney’s administration against agreeing to deals with companies working with ICE’s deportations.
City councilmember Shané Darby said she was not aware of the city having any such contract, but pointed toward Avelo as a company to avoid.
“I think it’s important that this local airline that we have, Avelo, that’s right down the street … that we do the right thing as a city to make sure that we’re not using public dollars to support what is happening with ICE,” she said at a Nov. 6 city council meeting.
Shane Brennan covers Wilmington and other Delaware issues. Reach out with ideas, tips or feedback at slbrennan@delawareonline.com.