The next time you visit Delaware, it will most likely be via car or train, as it’s currently the only state without commercial airline service. The one remaining route to the First State — a Frontier Airlines flight between Orlando, Florida, and New Castle Airport near Wilmington, Delaware — ended in June 2022, with a spokesperson explaining that “sufficient demand did not materialize to support the service.” This doesn’t exactly leave Delawareans stranded, thankfully; Wilmington, the state’s most populous city, is only about 32 miles from Philadelphia, which is well-served by airlines. Delaware is actually the second-smallest state by area, with only Rhode Island behind it, making travel to nearby states fairly easy. (It’s also 45th by population, with just over 1 million residents.) And Delaware won’t retain this dubious distinction for long: Avelo Airlines will begin operating five new routes from Wilmington to Florida in February 2023.
