Indianapolis Creating an aerotropolis > I
Dr John D Kasarda discovers how Indianapolis is strategically charting its airport’s and region’s future.
ndianapolis International Airport (IND), the Midwestern gateway that handled a total of 7.5 million passengers and
1.05 million metric tons of cargo in 2010, received much more than a facelift in 2008. A new state-of-the-art airport was opened adjacent to the old one on a greenfield site a mile wide and over two miles in length. Led by its architecturally striking
1.2 million sqft terminal chock full of shopping, dining, and cultural amenities, J D Power and Associates ranked IND North America’s best in class for passenger experience in 2010. And in February 2011, Airports Council International (ACI) recognised IND as the top airport in North America as part of its annual Airport Service Quality (ASQ) awards for performance excellence.
Creating an experience The $1.1 billion 40-gate terminal is impressive aeronautically, commercially, and visually. At its centre is a pre-security 25,000
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sqft Civic Plaza with a 200-ft diameter skylight providing views of the downtown Indianapolis skyline.
Branches of Indianapolis’ well-known shops, restaurants, and bistros circle the plaza. These are complemented by major chain retail outlets and eateries along with locally-themed restaurants and shops such as the Indianapolis 500 Grill (a sit-down restaurant) and Brickyard Authentics (offering Indy 500 race car memorabilia). The plaza also hosts a unique concept among US airports — a one-stop shop incorporating merchandise and displays from eight local museums and cultural institutions. Past security, 30,000 sqft of locally-
themed and national-chain shops and restaurants line IND’s two concourses. European hand-blown glass walls and terrazzo floors depict accomplishments of the city in sports, life-sciences, and other areas. Public art brings all this together to project the history, economy and character of Indianapolis.
A logistics engine IND’s greatest competitive strength is in cargo and air logistics. Serving as FedEx’s second largest hub in the world (behind Memphis), IND’s annual 1 million plus metric tons of cargo makes it the eighth largest cargo centre in the US and 21st largest globally, according to ACI. In early 2011, FedEx announced its fourth expansion of its facilities since 1988. The air express giant also announced it would launch new direct cargo flights to China, reinforcing its current nearly daily cargo flight from Hong Kong. Leveraging FedEx and other air cargo
services, IND is generating a growing niche in cold-chain management and the rapid delivery of biopharmaceutical products. In addition to FedEx, Cargolux and Pace Air Freight specialise in time-sensitive, temperature-controlled cargo transportation at the airport. The German 3PL, DB Shenker, has a large operation at IND’s former United Airlines maintenance facility that reverted to
GLOBAL AIRPORT CITIES
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