Bird strikes remain a threat—statistically more so than a Nigerian terrorist with a bomb in his BVDs—at Indianapolis International Airport. There were 37 bird strikes reported at the airport in 2009, five involving damage or temporary grounding of an aircraft.
The top level of the parking garage at Indianapolis International Airport is being closed in a money-saving effort. Officials
also will block off some little-used areas of surface parking lots, saying that the decline in air traffic during the recession
has reduced the need for parking spaces at the new passenger terminal that opened in late 2008
The Indianapolis
Airport Authority hired John D. Clark III as CEO, luring him away from Jacksonville Florida.
The Indianapolis International Airport is expecting to be busy this week and next despite an average 8 to 10 percent decline
compared to the same period last year.
Indianapolis’ new $1.1 billion airport terminal faces at least two nagging functionality issues: inadequate protection during
inclement weather at the second-level passenger drop-off platform and sunlight that floods the ticket lobby, making computer
screens hard to read.
Indianapolis has fared better than some airports in terms of declining revenue, with passengers down
about 10 percent for much of the year and revenue off 16 percent at one point.
One of the first things new airport CEO John Clark said he wanted to do was to squeeze more use—and revenue—out
of the new airport terminal’s Civic Plaza space.
Entertainment planned for December could put airport visitors in a spending mood. Retail sales at the terminal have suffered
this year due in part to a 10 percent drop in passenger traffic, prompting the Airport Authority to search
for ways to boost revenue.
There’s still family, turkey and football, but one Thanksgiving tradition is taking a hit this year. Millions of Americans
are spending the holiday at home, saying the poor economy has made it unaffordable to hit the road or board a plane.
Concessionaires at Indianapolis International Airport are asking the Airport Authority for relief from a policy that requires them to price their goods at a level
consistent with what consumers pay at non-airport retailers. We agree the airport shops need a break.
Airport concessionaires stung by a 10-percent drop in passenger traffic have asked the Indianapolis Airport Authority to ease
a policy that was implemented more than 10 years ago to keep prices in line with what consumers pay outside
the airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the problem was fixed about 10 a.m. Thursday, but it was unclear how long flights would continue to be delayed. Dozens of flights to Indianapolis International Airport have been affected.
In its Nov. 2 issue, IBJ published a Bloomington reader’s Viewpoint regarding the new terminal at Indianapolis
International Airport. It was both uninformed and misleading.
The new terminal at Indianapolis International Airport has seen a 10-percent decline in passengers during its first year.
Locally based Republic Airways Holdings Inc. on Tuesday afternoon said it still might bring jobs to Indianapolis as part of
the digestion of its newly acquired Frontier Airlines and Midwest Airlines subsidiaries. But it looks like Milwaukee has wound
up as the biggest beneficiary.
As an all-too-frequent flier, I’ve had a chance to get the full-love experience of the new airport terminal numerous
times in its first year. The summary is that it’s both tolerable, and I have no choice.
Hendricks County’s moves to entice a developer to build a conference hotel in Plainfield could further crimp plans
for
a
hotel attached to the new Indianapolis International Airport terminal.
The cash-strapped Indianapolis Airport Authority suddenly can’t look soon enough at developing some of its vast real
estate holdings, including the city’s former passenger terminal. This month, it plans to conduct final contract
negotiations with a firm that would study reuse of the old terminal, adjacent land and other airport holdings.
The Indianapolis Airport Authority agreed at its monthly meeting this morning to explore turning over management of the airport’s
parking operations to an outside company.
Locally based Republic Airways Holdings, which earlier this month said it could move up to 400 jobs gained through its
Frontier Airlines acquisition to Indianapolis or Milwaukee, has hinted it may move nearly twice that number to its headquarters
city.
