Gary/Chicago International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport in Gary, in

Lake County, Indiana Lake County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. In 2020, its population was 498,700, making it Indiana's List of counties in Indiana, second-most populous county. The county seat is Crown Point, Indiana, Cro ...

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. It is three miles northwest of the city center of Gary, and southeast of the

Chicago Loop The Loop, one of Chicago's 77 designated community areas, is the central business district of the city and is the main section of Downtown Chicago. Home to Chicago's commercial core, it is the second largest commercial business district in Nort ...

. It is operated by the Gary/Chicago International Airport Authority, which was created by an interstate compact between Gary, Chicago, and Indiana. Nearby highway connections include

I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, an ...

, I-80, I-94, I-65 and the

Chicago Skyway Interstate 90 (I-90) in the US state of Illinois runs roughly northwest-to-southeast through the northern part of the state. From the Wisconsin state line at South Beloit, it heads south to Rockford before heading east-southeast to th ...

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

records say the airport had 4,353 passenger boardings (enplanements) in

calendar year Generally speaking, a calendar year begins on the New Year's Day of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's Day, and thus consists of a whole number of days. A year can also be measured by starting on any ...

2008, 1,633 in 2009 and 2,143 in 2010. It is in the

National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) is an inventory of U.S. aviation infrastructure assets. NPIAS was developed and now maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It identifies existing and proposed airports tha ...

for 2011–2015, which called it a ''non-primary commercial service'' airport based on enplanements in 2008 (between 2,500 and 10,000 per year) but would be categorized as ''

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

'' based on enplanements in 2010.

History

Gary/Chicago bills itself as the "third airport" for the

Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hin ...

, supplementing Chicago's major airports, O'Hare and Midway. Gary/Chicago Airport has been designed with an eye towards growth and the administration is courting airlines aggressively. Numerous businesses, including

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and ...

, Menards and White Lodging Services, base their corporate aircraft here. A

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

installation has been built.

Federal funds In the United States, federal funds are overnight borrowings between banks and other entities to maintain their bank reserves at the Federal Reserve. Banks keep reserves at Federal Reserve Banks to meet their reserve requirements and to cle ...

were secured in January 2006 to move railroad tracks away from the northwest corner to allow extension of the main runway to 9,000 feet, as well as add gates to the existing passenger terminal building. The recent creation of the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority is expected to draw more state and local dollars for infrastructure improvements and additions. Expanding Gary/Chicago Airport is an alternative to constructing a new airport near Peotone, Illinois, 30 miles south of Chicago. One advantage of expanding the Gary airport is its proximity to downtown Chicago. This plan is backed by the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

s of Gary and Chicago, while the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

state government is in favor of construction at Peotone. Tax revenues from a new airport at Peotone would go to the Illinois state government, while those from an expanded Gary airport would go to a regional airport authority and thus to the cities of Chicago and Gary. A long-standing proposal to turn the Gary/Chicago International Airport into Chicago's third major airport received a boost in early 2006 with the approval of $48 million in federal funding over the next ten years. Expansion plans include a new multi-level Intermodal Terminal combining three modes of transit – passenger rail, passenger vehicles and air travel. The rail system is designed to combine both commuter and high-speed lines. High tension power lines along the west end of the airport are buried. A definitive agreement has been reached with the railroads that will allow relocation of elevated tracks currently blocking the west end of runway 30. Completion of these projects was required to make way for a lengthening of the main runway. On the afternoon of March 22, 2013, the FAA threatened to close the airport's

control tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...

, along with other airports in Illinois as a part of Federal Budget sequestration in 2013. However, Allegiant Air planned to keep flying to Gary, resuming in May. The closure did not happen as planned. The construction of the northwest extension of runway 12/30 from 7,003 to 8,859 feet was finally completed and opened for service on June 25, 2015.

Facilities and aircraft

Gary/Chicago International Airport covers 763

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

s (309 ha) at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § ...

of 597 feet (180 m) above

mean sea level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics, especially in statistics. Each mean serves to summarize a given group of data, often to better understand the overall value ( magnitude and sign) of a given data set. For a data set, the '' ...

. It has two

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concrete ...

s: 12/30 is 8,859 by 150 feet (2,700 x 46 m) and 2/20 is 3,604 by 100 feet. In January 2017, there were 111 aircraft based at this airport: 53 single-engine, 12 multi-engine, 37 jet and 9

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribu ...

. The airport is also home to an Army Aviation Support Facility supporting UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter operations of the Indiana Army National Guard as well as an additional collocated Army National Guard Armory supporting additional Indiana ARNG units and personnel. The installation is located on the site of a former

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

-era Army Nike missile battery. An ex-

US Airways US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon ...

Boeing 737-400 The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Februa ...

is stored at the airport. It is owned by the Ivy Tech College and used for various types of training.

Service

The airport was once served by

Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United State ...

, Southeast Airlines, SkyValue Airlines,

Skybus Airlines Skybus Airlines Inc. was a privately held airline based in Columbus, Ohio, United States. It operated as an ultra low-cost carrier modeled after the European airline Ryanair, and aimed to be the least expensive airline in the United States. ...

and Hooters Air, with flights to cities such as

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

; St. Petersburg, Florida;

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

and

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as "The Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. Its ...

. Prior to its bankruptcy in 2008, ATA Airlines planned turboprop service to several

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

cities by its subsidiary, Chicago Express/ ATA Connection, but the service was never started as Chicago Express Airlines was grounded in March 2005. Before ultimately choosing to serve Chicago O'Hare International Airport in 2006, JetBlue Airways considered flights to Gary/Chicago. Gary/Chicago was the hub for seasonal carrier SkyValue Airlines from December 2006 to April 2007.

served the airport until the airline folded on April 4, 2008. Between then and 2011 there were no scheduled passenger flights out of the Gary/Chicago Airport, but charter airlines frequently flew casino guests to

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

, Harrah's Tunica, and Beau Rivage Biloxi. On December 12, 2011, Allegiant Air announced it would begin service to Orlando Sanford International Airport two days a week beginning February 15, 2012. Allegiant Air had considered Gary/Chicago International Airport before, but aircraft operational limits resulted in the airline deciding against Gary until the runway expansion was completed. On May 24, 2013, Allegiant Air reported it was cancelling air service out of Gary because of low demand for the flights. Airport officials said that passenger loads were consistently more than Allegiant Air's minimums, but Allegiant Air said that the flights did not meet its revenue model. Allegiant Air's final scheduled flight from Gary was on August 10, 2013. Since Allegiant Air ended scheduled flights, there has been no scheduled commercial airline service out of Gary Airport. On May 13, 2020, announced it was adding its express parcel services to Gary/Chicago International Airport using the

Airbus A300 The Airbus A300 is a wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Airbus. In September 1967, aircraft manufacturers in the United Kingdom, France, and West Germany signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a large airliner. West ...

and

Boeing 757 The Boeing 757 is an American narrow-body airliner designed and built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The then-named 7N7, a twinjet successor for the 727 (a trijet), received its first orders in August 1978. The prototype completed its maid ...

to and from Louisville International Airport, home to UPS WorldPort. Flights commenced on November 2, 2020. On September 14, 2022, the airport authority hired the consulting firm Mead & Hunt to perform the necessary steps to re-attract passenger service.

Cargo

Activity

Chicago-based

selected the airport to permanently base its Midwest corporate jet fleet. For many years airplanes seen in the Chicago Air & Water Show have flown from here, including the U.S. Air Force's C-5 Galaxy and the

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successf ...

flight demonstration aircraft of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. Since 1999, th
Gary Air Show
has based its operations here as well.

Ground transportation

The

South Shore Line The South Shore Line is an electrically powered interurban commuter rail line operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) between Millennium Station in downtown Chicago and the South Bend International Airport ...

commuter rail train serves the Gary/Chicago International Airport. The station, which is known as Gary Airport/Clark Road, is located near Second Avenue, approximately south of the terminal. Service runs to

downtown Chicago ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...

References

External links

Gary/Chicago International Airport
official site
Gary Jet Center
long-time

fixed-base operator A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instructio ...

(FBO)
B. Coleman Aviation
new

(FBO)
Gary/Chicago Airport Station
on NICTD
Aerial image as of April 2002
from

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

The National Map ''The National Map'' is a collaborative effort of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and other federal, state, and local agencies to improve and deliver topographic information for the United States. The purpose of the effort is to prov ...

'' * *
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gary Chicago International Airport Northwest Indiana Transportation in Gary, Indiana Airports in Lake County, Indiana Airports in Indiana 1954 establishments in Indiana Airports established in 1954