53 routes, 10 million passengers: How the IND airport hits records, captures the hearts of travelers

Indianapolis Star

3 days ago

When Mario Rodriguez stepped in as executive director of the Indianapolis Airport Authority in 2014, he asked his employees who they thought of as owning the Indianapolis International Airport. The airport authority? The government? The airlines?None of these answers was right.
'It's the people who own the airport because they are the ones who use it,' Rodriguez said.
And use the airport they do.
Air travel in the United States hit record highs earlier this year, and Indiana is no exception even as some airlines face economic uncertainty. Hoosiers have more nonstop options than ever before out of IND, and although airlines are decreasing the number of daily flights, they are increasing the number of seats on the planes that do fly.
A record 10.5 million people traveled through the airport in 2024, and more routes are on the way. At least 15 new flights are launching out of Indianapolis in 2025, traveling to cities such as Austin, Chicago-Midway and New Orleans, and airport officials say there is plenty of room for more.
The airport offers nonstop service to 53 destinations – its most ever – headlined by three new international flights and more nonstop service to in-demand West Coast cities such as Portland, Oregon, a long unserved market for Indianapolis travelers.
What's made the airport so successful? Airport officials chalk it up to a strong employee base, local business partnerships and an industry that sees Indianapolis as a city ripe with opportunity.
'Ultimately, the Indianapolis airport is an economic engine and economic force,' said IAA senior director of finance Robert Thomson.
The airport broke its single day outbound passenger record on May 26, when the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 coincided with Game 3 of the Indiana Pacers matchup against the New York Knicks at home. The approximately 23,400 people who flew the Monday after beat the 13-year record set the day after the 2012 Super Bowl.
And if you talk to frequent Indianapolis air travelers, the airport's appeal goes beyond its flights.
The Indianapolis International Airport was named the best mid-sized airport in North America this year for the 13th year in a row — a recognition airport officials and Hoosiers both boast proudly – and J.D. Power ranked Indianapolis highest among medium airports in its customer service survey for the third year in a row.
"People opt to fly out of Indy compared to driving to Chicago or Cincinnati, and it's a huge reflection of the ease and the options to go places," said Katie Benner, 31, an Indianapolis resident who flies two to three times a year.
The airport experience also plays a vital role in welcoming those who have never stepped foot in Indianapolis before, given that the airport is often their first and last impression.
'An airport is a major function of how people perceive a destination,' said Chris Gahl, executive vice president of Visit Indy. 'Airports that have caused you pain in your travels stick out, and research shows consumers are less likely to come back to those airports.'
As passenger numbers grow, the airport is pouring money into capital investments — with projects like a $350 million runway improvement and a $205 million on-site hotel that's been in talks for nearly 20 years — to prepare the airport to serve passengers for years to come.
Marsha Wurster likes to geek out about data in her role as senior director of commercial enterprise at the Indianapolis airport.
Every day she studies how many people must connect when flying, hoping to use the data to convince an airline to come to Indianapolis. For some pitches, she works with local businesses to gain precise travel data. For instance, when she pitched the return of nonstop service from Indy to Raleigh-Durham in 2022, she tapped Eli Lilly for data since the Indianapolis drugmaker invests millions of dollars in a manufacturing site in North Carolina's Research Triangle.
Indianapolis also recently regained transatlantic service with a nonstop flight to Dublin, a hub for pharmaceutical manufacturing with strong cultural and economic ties to Indiana. In a statement, Lilly chief people officer Eric Dozier said the airport is 'crucial to our global operations,' and the new Dublin flight eases travel to Ireland where Lilly has a large presence.
Similarly, Salesforce, with 2,000 Indianapolis employees, played a role in bringing back a nonstop United flight to San Francisco in 2014. A campaign in 2017 to get Seattle on the departure board succeeded in part because Gen Con has headquarters there and its annual conference here.
But the airport is not just for business travelers. It thrives on a healthy mix of leisure and business travel in addition to being the eighth busiest cargo airport in the country.
The number of passengers traveling through the airport has increased 40% since 2010. Nonstop destinations are up 37% since 2010, and Indianapolis has recorded a higher return in seats and flights than comparable markets in recent years.
In total, 11 airlines operate out of Indianapolis, including the major American flagship carriers and nearly all of the low-cost airlines, making it a competitive market for flight prices, Rodriguez said.
'Hoosiers like to travel, and what actually plays very well is Hoosiers like to feel like they got value for their money,' Rodriguez said.
The competitive market often lures new airlines rather than detracting them. For instance, Irish carrier Aer Lingus saw an opportunity to attract non-loyal flyers on a transatlantic service that no other airline offers.
"Indy's been on the radar, because Indy is a big city but its proximity to other big cities really results in it being underserved," Bill Byrne, senior vice president of global sales for Aer Lingus, told IndyStar. "And the market is so divided which also makes it good for us because here at Indy, everybody's sort of an independent consumer."
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The airport's layout with its two concourses and a central atrium appeals to airlines because it takes less time to taxi to the runway, saving them money, Rodriguez said. The three-runway layout with two parallel runways allows double the number of planes to land and take off at the same time.
'Airplanes make money when they're up in the air,' Rodriguez said. 'They're burning money when they're down on the ground.'
Overnight, all 40 gates are full, as airlines capitalize on early morning flights out of the city. To further increase early morning service, the IAA has begun selling 'remote parking spots' for planes to park overnight while awaiting an open terminal gate.
Having an airport with wide connectivity also may be a plus for local businesses when it comes to recruiting new employees, Wurster said. She has heard of employers mentioning the airport when recruiting professionals like physicians or engineers.
'They really want to understand, are they going to be able to travel back to see their families or go to the leisure destinations they want to?' Wurster said.
Looking ahead, Wurster said she'd like to see the airport lure a number of new nonstop flights. San Antonio sits near the top of her list with some 80 people traveling daily to the rapidly growing Texas city. At least six of Indy's top 10 underserved markets are on the West Coast.
Then there's always more flights for sunny vacations to the Sunshine State.
'Hoosiers seem to like Florida and will fill flights in Florida markets,' Wurster said.
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For nearly 20 years, opening a terminal hotel has been at the top of the airport authority's wish list, director of finance Robert Thomson said.
About a third of the airport's traffic takes off or lands before 9 a.m., making the airport an in-demand location for a hotel.
After three efforts spread across nearly two decades, the Indianapolis airport board in February finally approved plans for a 253-room Westin hotel that will put the airport in line with larger airports, like Chicago O'Hare and Orlando International.
The hotel will bring another 150 jobs to the airport campus when it opens in late 2027.
A long-awaited public transit line from the airport to downtown will begin construction soon as IndyGo revs up its three-year upgrade of the Route 8 bus to create the Blue Line, the city's third rapid transit line.
By 2028, IndyGo will connect the Indianapolis airport to Cumberland on the far east side of the city. Not just travelers will benefit: Many airport employees use the current bus route to get to work every day, and some of the new workers at the hotel are likely to do so as well.
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Once completed, the Blue Line will operate between 250 and 300 daily trips, up from the 75 to 100 currently offered, said IndyGo chief development officer Brooke Thomas. Buses will run every 15 minutes instead of every 30, Thomas said.
'You're not bound by that schedule anymore. That kind of 15-minute frequency mark is what sort of unlocks that for people,' Thomas said.
IndyGo will also upgrade its existing airport bus stop, which Thomas admits can be difficult to find at present, especially for travelers new to Indianapolis. Upgrades will include a real-time sign of the next arriving bus, a station near the ground level transportation area and signs throughout the airport directing people to the station.
'So the second you get off your plane and walk into the terminal, you can find your way to the ground transportation area but not just that, but also to IndyGo,' Thomas said.
Even before a rapid transit connection or a hotel steps away, the Indianapolis airport is known to offer a plethora of physical attractions directly tied to the spirit of the city.
When Olivia Theobald disembarks a plane in Indianapolis, she immediately encounters reminders that she has arrived home, such as a display of racing cars during the month of May and local restaurants like Harry and Izzy's and Tinker Coffee. Once, a full-size basketball court in the middle of the main concourse to celebrate the 2024 NBA All-Star game greeted her. The 27-year-old said she loves how the airport showcases the city she has long called home.
'I appreciate that and not everywhere you get that,' Theobald said.
The growth of local touches at the airport is no accident, but rather, the result of a yearslong effort on airport officials' part to put more than 90% of the airport's profits back into the Indiana economy.
'That is our North Star. We want to make our community better,' Rodriguez said.
During the pandemic, airport officials started hiring only local artists for creative work on campus. The airport also paid local creatives to create art for construction walls. When one comes down, another local artist's work replaces it.
Even the tables scattered throughout the terminal are built by Indiana furniture makers, including Jasper Group and Purposeful Design, an Indianapolis company where homeless and incarcerated men build wood furniture, including tables shaped like the state of Indiana.
And to Rodriguez, the people working out front and behind the scenes at the airport are why it gets the accolades. The airport authority employs more than 550 people, more than half of whom work in customer-facing roles. In total, around 12,000 people work on the campus daily, including airline employees and federal workers.
On a recent Thursday morning, Rodriguez strolled through the terminal, stopping to say hello to each employee he encountered, from security personnel to guest services employees. When he saw Hafedh Khemir, a 15-year bus driver, he greeted him in Arabic, Khemir's native language.
Khemir could make more in the private sector with his college degree, he says, but he takes pride in being the first face guests encounter when they park in the economy lot.
'When they come, the very first thing they see is the bus driver,' Khemir said, 'and I take that responsibility, and I make them feel that they are very welcome… Our business is to take care of them."
The extra effort by employees like Khemir doesn't go unnoticed by those traveling through the airport.
Earlier this month, Suzie Crews, 53, flew to Indianapolis on a two-day work trip that marked her second time at the airport. Coming from Charlotte, North Carolina, she remarked how easy it was to navigate the Indianapolis airport, from parking a rental car to going through security.
Charlotte may have idyllic white rockers, while New York's JFK has a hotel with a pool overlooking the airfield, but Crews and her coworker agreed that the Indianapolis airport has its own asset: How easy and pleasant it is to navigate it.
'We love going through TSA here because they are not grumpy workers,' Crews said. 'It's like they understand that it is stressful to travel.'