Published: November 18, 2009 02:13 pm      

Indianapolis Executive Airport named Airport of the Year

The Indianapolis Executive Airport, 11329 E. Ind. 32, announced on Tuesday, Nov. 3, that it has received the Aviation Association of Indiana’s 2009 Airport of the Year award. Airports are evaluated based on economic development, contributions to aviation education, corporate citizenship and community outreach, safety and security, environmental improvements and aesthetics.

IEA, owned and operated by the Hamilton County Airport Authority and managed by Montgomery Aviation Inc., is the sixth recipient of the award since the award’s inception in 2004.

The Airport of the Year award included a plaque and signs to be displayed at the airport as well as $1,000, which the Hamilton County Airport Authority has donated to Down Syndrome Indiana, Jackson Center and the Commemorative Air Force. Montgomery Aviation Inc. has raised more than $25,000 for these three charities in 2009. The Airport of the Year award was announced at the Aviation Association of Indiana Annual Conference held at the Swan Lake Resort in Plymouth on Oct. 15.

Factors contributing to IEA’s recognition include strategic planning and growth, making IEA the eighth-largest economic impact airport in Indiana by 2008, with an estimated impact of more than $87 million for 2008. Through corporate citizenship and community outreach, IEA has positively impacted surrounding organizations and thereby contributed to overall economic development as well. Charitable organizations benefiting from IEA’s extensive outreach program include Down Syndrome Indiana, Commemorative Air Force, Jackson Center, CureSearch, St. Vincent Hospital Foundation, Indianapolis Art Center, Special Olympics, Muscular Dystrophy Association, National Brain Tumor Foundation, Cerebral Palsy and Witham Hospital. The airport is also sponsor and host to a number of community organizations in Boone and Hamilton counties that benefit from the airport’s active participation.

Other initiatives contributing to this recognition include IEA’s completion of a $3.4 million runway project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that employed 80 workers for approximately two months. It was the first ARRA airport construction project started and finished in the state and possibly the country for airport development and infrastructure improvement.

The airport also recently completed a 20-year master plan that provided technical guidance for future plan development to support its forecasted growth and maintenance. As part of this master plan, the airport completed an environmental overview including a noise analysis and a public information meeting at the airport, which allowed the public to provide feedback on the forecasted development.