Indianapolis Airports
Indianapolis International Airport, identified as IND, is the largest airport in Indiana and serves the Indianapolis Metropolitan Area. A new midfield terminal was built in 2008, with 40 gates and two concourses. There are also plans for a third parallel runway south of I-70.
FedEx Express, a cargo airline, operates a national hub out of IND and is the second largest hub operation in the world behind only the Superhub in Memphis. FedEx plans to continue expanding the hub along Interstate 70 or possibly where the old passenger terminal remains. Adding onto the FedEx ramp will allow more wide-body aircraft and more direct flights from IND to FedEx hubs in Europe and Asia.
Cargolux, which flies to Chicago O’Hare, Los Angeles, and Luxembourg, also operates out of IND.
As for more information about IND, Indianapolis International Airport is an international airport located seven miles southwest of downtown Indianapolis in Marion County, Indiana, United States. It is owned and operated by the Indianapolis Airport Authority. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021 categorized it as a medium hub primary commercial service facility.
Opened as Indianapolis Municipal Airport in 1931 and later known as Weir Cook Municipal Airport, Indianapolis International occupies about 7,700 acres in Wayne and Decatur townships in Marion County and Guilford Township in Hendricks County. It is the 45th busiest U.S. airport in terms of passenger traffic, serving 8.5 million passengers annually. As home to the second largest FedEx Express hub in the world, IND ranked as the seventh busiest U.S. airport in terms of air cargo throughput in 2015.
A $1.1 billion midfield passenger terminal opened in 2008 as one of the first designed and built in the U.S. following the September 11 attacks. The Colonel Harvey Weir Cook Terminal contains two concourses and 40 gates, connecting to 51 nonstop domestic and international destinations and averaging 145 daily departures.
As for some history, Indianapolis Municipal Airport opened in 1931. In 1944, it was renamed Weir Cook Municipal Airport, after US Army Air Forces Col. Harvey Weir Cook of Wilkinson, Indiana, who became a flying ace during World War I with seven victories and died flying a P-39 over New Caledonia in World War II.
Since 1962, the airport has been owned and operated by the Indianapolis Airport Authority (IAA), an eight-member board with members appointed by the Mayor of Indianapolis and other officials from Marion, Hendricks and Hamilton counties in central Indiana. In 1976, the board renamed the airport Indianapolis International Airport.
In 2008, the board named the new main passenger facility the Col. H. Weir Cook Terminal and the new entrance road Col. H. Weir Cook Memorial Drive.
As for the management, the Indianapolis International Airport is owned and operated by the Indianapolis Airport Authority (IAA), a municipal corporation established in 1962. The IAA operates five other airports in the area: Indianapolis Downtown Heliport, Eagle Creek Airpark, Hendricks County Airport–Gordon Graham Field, Indianapolis Metropolitan Airport, and Indianapolis Regional Airport.
The IAA board leadership is Barbara Glass serving as President, Steve Dillinger serving as vice president, and Alfred R. Bennett serving as Secretary.
Mario Rodriguez, an award-winning airport industry veteran, became the Executive Director / CEO of the Indianapolis Airport Authority in June 2014.
