Indianapolis International Airport

Beginnings

Indianapolis Municipal Airport opened on September 24, 1931,^[9] replacing the older Stout Field as the primary city airport. The airport was initially built on about 320 acres (130 ha) of land in the southwestern edge of the city, with an additional 627 acres (254 ha) reserved for future expansions at the airport.^[10] In 1944, it was renamed Weir Cook Municipal Airport, after US Army Air Forces Col. Harvey Weir Cook of Wilkinson, Indiana, who had become a flying ace during World War I with seven victories and had died flying a P-39 over New Caledonia in World War II.

Indianapolis was one of many stops along the first transcontinental air/rail service between Los Angeles and New York that was started by Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT) in 1929. TAT would later become Trans World Airlines (TWA) and continued to serve IND until their merger into American Airlines in 2001.

Since 1962, the airport has been owned and operated by the Indianapolis Airport Authority (IAA). The IAA has 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.^[11]

From 1957 to 2008, the passenger terminal was on the east side of the airfield off High School Road. This now-demolished facility was renovated and expanded many times, notably in 1968 (Concourses A and B), 1972 (Concourse D), and 1987 (Concourse C and the attached parking garage). This complex, along with the International Arrivals Terminal (opened in 1976) on the north side of the airfield (off Pierson Drive), was replaced by the Col. H. Weir Cook Terminal on November 12, 2008.^[12]

The April 1957 Official Airline Guide (OAG) shows 82 weekday departures: 24 Eastern, 22 TWA, 15 Delta, 11 American, 9 Lake Central and 1 Ozark. Eastern had a nonstop to Atlanta and one to Birmingham and TWA had two to New York-LaGuardia; no other nonstops reached beyond Chicago, St. Louis, Memphis, Louisville and Pittsburgh. The first jets were TWA Convair 880s in 1961. Westward nonstops did not reach beyond St. Louis until 1967 when TWA started a JFK-IND-LAX flight with a Boeing 707. In the mid-1970s, TWA ran a widebody Lockheed L-1011 on the nonstop flight to Los Angeles.^[13]

Recent years

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, USAir (later US Airways) had a secondary hub in Indianapolis with non-stop jets to the West Coast, East Coast, and Florida and turboprop flights to cities around the Midwest. USAir peaked at 146 daily departures (including its prop affiliates), with 49% of all seats. USAir ended the hub in the late 1990s.^{[citation needed]}

FedEx Express began its hub at the airport in 1988, with an expansion of the hub occurring ten years later. The hub employs around 4,000 people and has a sort capacity of nearly 100,000 packages per hour, making Indianapolis the largest FedEx hub in the world outside of the company's SuperHub in Memphis.^[14]

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Indianapolis was a hub for then locally based ATA Airlines and its regional affiliate, Chicago Express/ATA Connection. After that airline entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late 2004, operations at IND were cut, then eliminated in 2006.^[15] ATA's demise gave Northwest Airlines an opportunity to expand operations, making Indianapolis a focus city with mainline flights to the West Coast, East Coast, and the South.^[16] Northwest was later acquired by Delta Air Lines in 2008, and a decade later, Delta began service from Indianapolis to Paris in May 2018. This flight was the first ever non-stop transatlantic passenger flight out of Indianapolis.^[17] The flight, DL500, was suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[18]

In 1990, Air Canada began nonstop service from Indianapolis to Toronto Pearson International Airport, marking the first regularly scheduled international flight out of IND.^[19] Air Canada Jazz, which operated the flight from 2001, would be retired by Air Canada in 2012, and service to IND would continue under the new Air Canada Express brand.

In 1994, BAA USA was awarded a 10-year contract to manage the Indianapolis International Airport. The contract was extended three years but was later cut a year short at the request of the BAA. Private management ended on December 31, 2007, and control reverted to IAA.^[20][21] Also in 1994, United Airlines finished building its Indianapolis Maintenance Center^[22] at a cost of US$600 million.^[23] United later moved their maintenance operations to its sole maintenance hub located at San Francisco International Airport. Around 2006, runway 14/32 was shortened from 7,604 feet (2,318 m) to its present length because the south end was not visible from the new control tower.^[24]

A new 1.2-million-square-foot (110,000 m²) midfield passenger terminal, which cost $1.1 billion, opened in 2008 between the airport's two parallel runways, southwest of the previous terminal and the crosswind runway. A new FAA Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) and Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) building, the second tallest in the United States, opened in April 2006, the first component of the long-planned midfield complex. The Weir Cook Terminal itself opened for arriving flights on the evening of November 11, 2008, and for departures the following morning. HOK was its master designer, with AeroDesign Group (a joint venture of CSO Architects, SchenkelShultz Architecture, and ARCHonsortium) serving as the architect of record. Aviation Capital Management (Indianapolis), a subsidiary of BSA LifeStructures, was the airport's program manager. Hunt/Smoot Midfield Builders, a joint venture of Hunt Construction Group and Smoot Construction was the construction manager.^[25] Thornton Tomasetti was the terminal's structural engineer along with Fink, Roberts and Petrie.^[26] Syska Hennessy was the mechanical, electrical, & plumbing engineer.^[26] In 2021, a six-person panel of Indianapolis members of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) identified the Col. H. Weir Cook Terminal among the ten most "architecturally significant" buildings completed in the city since World War II.^[27]

A 183-acre (74 ha), 22 MW solar farm consisting of 87,478 solar panels is located at the approach end of runway 5R. As of late 2025, it is the largest airport solar farm in the world.^[28][29] The airport plans to further expand solar capacity by covering the parking lots with solar canopies as part of its goal to be energy self-sufficient and carbon-neutral.^[30]

In August 2017, Allegiant Air announced it would open a $40 million aircraft base at the airport that would begin operations in February of the following year. The facility was to create 66 high-paying jobs by the end of year and house two Airbus aircraft.^[31][32]

On August 16, 2019, the Indianapolis Airport Authority announced a $76 million plan to expand the terminal parking garage. The airport's existing parking garage, which opened with the new terminal in 2008, had an existing 5,900 public parking spaces and 1,200 rental car spaces. The five-story expansion began construction in fall 2022 with F.A. Wilhelm as the general contractor to build the 500,000 square feet (46,000 m²) expansion, giving the airport an extra 500 public parking spots and 1,000 rental car spaces including the installation of a solar canopy that spanning the entire addition. The expansion opened in early 2024.^[33][34]

International service to IND has increased in recent years. On October 21, 2024, Aer Lingus announced nonstop flights to Dublin, Ireland beginning May 2025, marking the first transatlantic flight out of Indianapolis since 2020.^[35] In March 2025, American Airlines announced service to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.^[36] In April, Delta Air Lines announced service to Cancún.^[37] In August of the same year, Southwest Airlines announced service to San José del Cabo in Mexico,^[38] then in early October Southwest Airlines also announced non-stop service to San Juan in Puerto Rico.^[39]

On December 22, 2025, AAR Corp., an aircraft maintenance service to commercial and government customers announced they would be permanently closing AAR Indianapolis by February 28, 2027. AAR started layoffs of the almost 330 employees on February 15, 2026.^[40][41] AAR leased the 367,000 square feet (34,100 m²) hangar at IND beginning in 2004, a hangar which was originally occupied by United Airlines until 2003.^[42]

Airport hotel

The Indianapolis Airport Authority voted on February 21, 2025, to build a new hotel at the airport. The 253-room Marriott Westin-branded hotel will connect to the west side of the terminal parking garage, allowing direct access to the airport terminal. The hotel will feature a full-service restaurant, a seventh-floor lounge area with an airfield view open to the public, a fitness center, approximately 10,000 square feet (930 m²) of meeting space, and dedicated parking with valet. Groundbreaking for the Westin Indianapolis Airport hotel began in June 2025,^[43] with anticipated completion of the almost $206 million project in December 2027.^[44][45][46]

Terminal

Indianapolis International Airport has a single terminal with two concourses and a total of 39 gates.^[47] The current terminal opened in 2008 and is named in honor of Col. Harvey Weir Cook. It was one of the first designed and built in the U.S. following the September 11 attacks.^[48] International arrivals are processed in Concourse A (Gates A4-A5).^[47][49]

• Concourse A contains 20 gates (Gates A3-A8, A10-A17, A21-A25).^[47][49] It serves Aer Lingus, Air Canada, Avelo Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, and United Airlines.^[50]
• Concourse B contains 19 gates (Gates B3-B10, B13-B17,^[a] B20-B25).^[47][49] It serves Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air, American Airlines, and Southwest Airlines.^[50]

Ticketing counters

Indianapolis International Airport has eight ticketing counters for all 11 airlines.^[47]

• Counter 1 contains Allegiant Air and Sun Country Airlines.
• Counter 2 contains Delta Air Lines.
• Counter 3 contains Frontier Airlines.
• Counter 4 contains American Airlines.
• Counter 5 contains Air Canada and United Airlines.
• Counter 6 contains Aer Lingus and Alaska Airlines.
• Counter 7 contains Southwest Airlines.
• Counter 8 is unoccupied.

Runways

The airport has three runways: two parallel and one crosswind. The crosswind runway, 14/32, is the shortest of the three at 7,278 feet (2,218 m), and the only original runway remaining. Historical aerial imagery shows that the original runway 5/23 became 5L/23R when 5R/23L was first constructed in the late 1980s and opened in 1989.^[51] When the current 5L/23R was built in the mid-1990s, the original 5L/23R runway was decommissioned. Portions of it are still visible near the site of the old terminal, including a segment where a former FedEx Boeing 727 still remains for fire training. The new terminal now occupies what used to be the southwestern end of the original 5/23 runway. The most recently refurbished runway is 5R/23L, completed in 2024 as part of a large expansion program. Indianapolis International Airport received a $26.6 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on August 2, 2024. The grant was one of the largest among airports selected to receive the latest round of funding. The funding was applied to the reconstruction of IND's Runway 5R-23L and Taxiway D to improve safety. The project, which included adding LED runway and taxiway lighting was completed in late 2024. The Indianapolis Airport Authority (IAA) spent approximately $38.6 million with 34 diverse businesses for phase one and two. The construction project has created more than 3,200 jobs, across all three phases of the reconstruction.^[52][53][54] The north parallel runway (5L/23R) was refurbished in 2021 which allowed the south parallel runway reconstruction to proceed with minimal operational impact to the airfield.^[55]

The airport's current ~348-foot (106-meter) control tower opened in 2006 at a cost of about $38 million. The tower is the fourth tallest in the United States and the fourteenth tallest in the world.^[56][57]

Ground transportation

Ten rental car operations (Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National, Payless, Sixt, and Thrifty) and the Ground Transportation Center (where information about limousine, shuttle bus, hotel courtesy vehicles and other transportation services such as IndyGo bus service can be obtained) are located on the first floor of the attached parking garage. All pick-ups and drop-offs of rental vehicles also occur here, eliminating the need for shuttling customers to and from individual companies' remote processing facilities. The 3.2-million-square-foot (300,000 m²) five-floor parking garage has 6,400 public parking spaces and 2,200 rental car spaces.^[33] It features a light-filled center atrium complete with a piece of suspended artwork and contains moving sidewalks to speed pedestrians into and out of the terminal building itself.^[58][59]

The Blue Line, a bus rapid transit route also operated by IndyGo, will have its western terminus at the airport. Groundbreaking for the new line began in February 2025 and the route is expected to be completed by 2028.^[60]

Passenger

• General source:^[50][61]

Cargo

Destination maps

More information Domestic destinations map ...

Domestic destinations map

Indianapolis Atlanta Austin Baltimore Boston Burbank Charleston Charlotte Charlotte-Concord Chicago–O'Hare Chicago–Midway Dallas/ Fort Worth Dallas–Love Denver Destin/ Fort Walton Beach Detroit Fort Lauderdale Ft. Myers Houston–Intercontinental Houston–Hobby Jacksonville Kansas City Key West Las Vegas Los Angeles Miami Minneapolis/ St. Paul Myrtle Beach Nashville Newark New Haven JFK LaGuardia Orlando Orlando/Sanford Panama City Philadelphia Phoenix– Sky Harbor Portland Punta Gorda Raleigh–Durham Salt Lake City San Diego San Francisco Sarasota Savannah Seattle/Tacoma St. Pete Tampa Washington–Dulles Washington–National Domestic destinations from IND (excludes Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories). Red dots represent year-round destinations; green dots represent seasonal destinations; blue dots represent future destinations.

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More information International destinations map ...

International destinations map
Indianapolis Toronto–Pearson Cancún Dublin Punta Cana San José del Cabo San Juan International destinations from IND (includes Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories). Red dots represent year-round destinations; green dots represent seasonal destinations; blue dots represent future destinations.

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Top destinations

Airline market share

Annual traffic and cargo

On-time performance (domestic major U.S. carriers only)

Airport employees

Number of airport employees at IND (December 2024)^[139]