Airport taxi times improve

If it seems like your airliner spends less time bouncing its way to and from the terminal at Indianapolis International
Airport, it isn’t your imagination.

Data compiled by the Federal Aviation Administration shows the average
“taxi-out” time—from pushback at the gate to takeoff—declined in the first six months of this year
by 1.69 minutes, to an average 14.43 minutes. In the first six months of 2008, the average taxi-out was 16.2 minutes.

Airplane passengers spend less ground time at Indianapolis International Airport. (IBJ File Photo)

Even better
was a reduction in “taxi-in” times. The travel time from landing to arrival at the jetway dropped 3.54 minutes,
to an average of 5.96 minutes.

The taxi-time reductions are due in part to the more central location of the
new terminal, which opened last November. Another likely contributor is an overall reduction in airline traffic amid the recession,
which cut down on taxiway bottlenecks.

“We have known all along that the ‘midfield’ location
of the terminal would reduce taxi times, period. That was before the economy took a downturn and traffic volumes were lowered.
If traffic volumes were what they were even two years ago, the taxi times would still be less than they were at the old terminal,”
said Susan Sullivan, spokeswoman for the Indianapolis Airport Authority.•