Wilmington Air Park Highest Volume Cargo Airport in Ohio

Wilmington Air Park Highest Volume Cargo Airport in Ohio Main Photo

18 Apr 2022


News

Ranked 25th in the Nation

The Wilmington Air Park was ranked the highest volume airport in Ohio for cargo shipped for 12 consecutive months as of the end of 2021. That volume also makes it the 25th busiest airport in the United States based on pounds of freight transiting the airport. The volume of freight processed at the airport, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, is 512 million pounds for the 12-month period through December 2021.

“The Wilmington Air Park has maintained the rank of number one in Ohio since February of 2020,” said Clinton County Port Authority Executive Director Daniel Evers. “We’re extremely proud of this achievement – as well as being the 25th highest-volume cargo airport, out of a field of 770 airports in the United States, for the last quarter of 2021.”

“This ranking recognizes the hard work of many here at the Wilmington Air Park,” continued Evers. “The Amazon cargo operations involve the coordinated work of the company’s associates to plan, handle, and process the freight. That effort, along with the shipping done by cargo charters, is made possible by the technicians and pilots who maintain and fly the aircraft, and the exceptional teams of people who plow snow, mow grass, maintain facilities and lighting systems, maintain navigational aids, staff the fire station and the tower and plan every day to ensure that operations are as seamless as possible, every day.”

Well positioned for freight and cargo operations, the airport has long been a logistics center. In the early 1980s it was home to fledgling Airborne Express that later grew to be the third largest overnight delivery company in the nation.

It served as the proof-of-concept location for cargo operations, and now houses nightly operations and accommodates charter cargo flights. The Air Park also is home to the world’s largest lessor of Boeing 767 cargo aircraft, Cargo Aircraft Management, a subsidiary of Air Transport Services Group (ATSG). Other ATSG subsidiaries located at the Wilmington Air Park include Airborne Maintenance and Engineering Services, Air Transport International, ABX Air, Airborne Global Solutions, Airborne Training Services, and LGSTX Services, Inc.  

The Port Authority has owned the Wilmington Air Park for nearly 12 years. More than $5 million has been invested in aviation engineering design and infrastructure at the Wilmington Air Park over the past five years, including grant funds from the Ohio Department of Transportation Office of Aviation, a capital grant from the State of Ohio, and general fund dollars from the Clinton County Port Authority.

Last year the Ohio Aviation Association recognized LGSTX Services, the on-airport ground handling team, as well as the airport operations team, as the top in Ohio, as well.

“The dedication of the LGSTX team, together with the depth of their knowledge of the airport, has allowed the Port Authority to invest and leverage our available funds strategically to create an environment that will enable continued growth of aircraft operations at the airport,” said Evers. “We continue to attract the attention of cargo operators, due to the location of the Air Park, flexibility in our ability to accommodate users’ needs, and the efficiencies of operating at cargo-only airport.” 

Bureau of Transportation statistics are updated monthly and published on their website at https://bit.ly/ILN_Stats.