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08/14/08 10:54 AM
NEW INDIANAPOLIS AIRPORT TO OPEN WITH TRIBUTE TO VETERANS
PUBLIC INVITED TO COMMUNITY DAYS IN MID-OCTOBER
INDIANAPOLIS – The new Indianapolis International Airport will be introduced to the public with Community Days, an open-house weekend in mid-October, the Indianapolis Airport Authority announced today. The new terminal, named for World War One flying ace Col. H. Weir Cook, officially will open for business on Tuesday, November 11 with a tribute to veterans.
Authority President Randall L. Tobias said the Community Days, scheduled for Saturday, October 11 and Sunday, October 12, would be part of a public information campaign intended to prepare the Indianapolis area for the new airport, which will be located on Interstate 70 at Exit 68, just west of Interstate 465.
“We are opening a new airport at a new address that will be a new experience for Indianapolis,” Tobias said. “We want to be sure that all our customers know where to find us and know how to use our new facilities when they arrive.”
Tobias also said the project reached a key milestone with the news, announced at the Friday, August 1 authority board meeting, that the baggage processing system at the new Col. H. Weir Cook Terminal had passed its security tests and had been certified by the federal government’s Transportation Security Administration. “The project achieved that certification earlier than scheduled, which is an indicator of its status as on-time and under budget,” Tobias said.
The Community Days will give members of the public a chance to see the buildings and familiarize themselves with the parking, ticketing, baggage claim and concourses and with Civic Plaza, the pre-security center of shopping and dining in the new terminal. Because the facility will not yet be operating, visitors also will be able to go behind the scenes to see the baggage processing operations and other areas and equipment that will be off-limits due to security regulations once the airport opens. Additionally, airport emergency vehicles, including fire-rescue and snow-clearing equipment, will be on display.
The Authority also is planning a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the afternoon of Tuesday, Nov. 11, which is Veterans Day, to signal the beginning of public passenger service at the new terminal. Because of the pattern of airline traffic at Indianapolis International Airport, the evening is the best time to start directing arriving aircraft to the new terminal. Departing flights will begin leaving from the new terminal the following morning, airport officials said.
Once the Authority board named the new terminal in recognition of Col. H. Weir Cook, its members decided that Veterans Day would be a more meaningful occasion to dedicate the building, Tobias said. “We believe that the proximity of Veterans Day – and the fact that it comes before the holiday travel season starts – gives us an irresistible opportunity to dedicate our new terminal to Col. H. Weir Cook and conduct a tribute to all our veterans,” he said.
Earlier this year, the project management announced that the new airport would be ready to operate on October 28. According to Airport Authority Executive Director John J. Kish, the airport will meet that operational schedule. “At the end of this month, the construction of the terminal building will reach ‘substantial completion’, which means that the facility is ready for use. We will then take the remaining two months to touch-up, clean and test the building and its equipment,” Kish said.
The new airport will have additional gates, much greater garage and surface parking, an expanded and exciting variety of shopping and dining choices and a significant capacity to meet the growth demands of the Indianapolis metropolitan area. When the new airport terminal opens, the current terminal will close.
The $1.1 billion project was financed by bonds that will be repaid through airport operation revenues. No state or local tax proceeds were used for its construction or operation.
The detailed schedule and registration procedure for the Community Days will be announced soon, Tobias said. Registration will not limit participation on those days, but simply give the Authority an estimate of attendance. During the Community Days, the new airport facilities will be open while regular airport operations will be conducted at the current High School Road terminal. More information is available at http://www.indianapolisairport.com. The airport’s portrait of Col. Cook is on display at the office of Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels and may also be seen at http://www.in.gov/gov/2597.htm.
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