UAL Flight Arrives At New Col. H. Weir Cook Terminal

The $1.1 billion 're-imaging' of the Indianapolis International Airport was officially christened Tuesday, with a formal ribbon cutting followed hours later by the arrival of the first passenger airline flight.

Given the high level of planning for the Veterans Day ceremony, however, not everything went according to plan... a metaphor for commercial airports if ever there was one.

The Indianapolis Star reports a scheduled arrival at the new Col. H. Weir Cook Terminal by a plane carrying returning soldiers fell through due to logistical issues, while a planned flyover by Indiana National Guard F-16s was scrubbed due to rain. And speaking of those showers, Mother Nature also forced the ribbon cutting ceremony indoors.

Those snags aside, the mood was upbeat among the reported crowd of "several hundred" onlookers, as airport authority board president Randall Tobias joined dozens of local officials, airport executives and airport vendors in cutting the 1,000-foot-long red ribbon wrapped around the terminal's massive Civic Plaza center gathering area.

"As of now, this is an airport ... a real airport," Tobias said.

United Airlines Flight 7622 arrived from Chicago arrived at the new terminal just before 8 pm Tuesday night. The first outbound flights are scheduled to depart from the new terminal Wednesday morning, marking the first full day of operations at the new facility... while it's the end of an era for the airport's old terminal, which opened in 1957.

As ANN reported in March, the expensive revamp of IND -- pushed forward by city leaders despite protests from several airlines -- is aimed at bringing Indianapolis into the big time. It's the largest civil project ever in the history of the midwestern city... and is but one step in a larger campaign to make the Indiana state capital a force to be reckoned with on the global stage.

"The decision to move forward with this terminal was a complicated one," said Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith. "It was a bold step for the city at the time. The airlines were against this at the time because of the cost. But obviously in retrospect, it was a wonderful decision."

The new 1.2 million square-foot Cook Terminal is composed of steel and glass, with a swooping roofline intended to invoke images of flight. The new terminal features two concourses with 20 gates each -- six more than the old terminal had with four concourses -- and is expandable to as many as 100 gates if demand warrants.

In an effort to make the airport feel more accessible, even in an age of heightened security, the Civic Plaza is open to both passengers and visitors alike. A five-story window wall offers views of downtown Indianapolis; additional retail space offers more room for high-end shops, and fine dining options. Airport officials reduced parking rates, in hopes of luring the general public to shop and eat in the new building.

The new terminal -- named after the famed World War I aviator -- is located across the airfield from the old IND terminal, in between the existing airfield's pair of parallel runways. City leaders bill the airport as the first new commercial airport built since 9/11.

The terminal also features an advanced $25.6 million luggage-sorting system, that uses RFID technology to track bags in hopes of eliminating lost and misrouted luggage. The field also sports a new, modern control tower.

FMI: www.newindianapolisairport.com