Indianapolis International Airpor to Open New Facility for Cargo Shipment

Claiming cargo carried in passenger planes at Indianapolis International Airport will get a little easier Wednesday.

A new $5.4 million facility for shipping and receiving large or unusual freight items carried by airlines is scheduled to open just south of the Col. H. Weir Cook Terminal building.

The Airport Support Services Building is a 40,000-square foot concrete structure at 7899 South Service Drive. The location along the south drive into the passenger terminal building is just east of the cell phone parking lot and is marked with blue signs.

The construction project, which was delayed until the passenger terminal was completed nearby, had the unglamorous working name of “belly cargo building” because it is for holding and staging large or unusual freight to be carried in the belly cargo compartments of aircraft.

Airlines rent space in the facility, which is considered to be public.

Typical items that might be moved through the Airport Support Services Building including vehicles, motorcycles, large consumer goods, fresh seafood and flowers, delicate computer parts and life animals.

Airport Chief Operating Officer Mike Medvescek said the new building is designed to serve double duty on the airfield.

“It will serve as the primary facility for those who need to ship or receive cargo from a passenger airline. It will also serve as a ground support equipment maintenance facility for the airlines,” he said.

Equipment in the building includes conveyor systems and loaders, baggage carts, tugs and tractors, personnel transportation vehicles, trucks and portable equipment for servicing airplanes at the concourse loading gates.

The new building consolidates the cargo and tarmac operations that had been scattered among three buildings near the old passenger terminal on the far eastside of the Indianapolis airport.

Medvescek said that moving the cargo and field operations closer to the new passenger terminal, which opened in November 2008, improves safety of the equipment around the aircraft. And, he said, the shorter distances will save both time and fuel.

In a written statement, the Indianapolis Airport Authority said the public should no longer use the old buildings on Pierson and Cargo drives near the vacant passenger terminal on High School Road to pickup or drop-off shipments. Those buildings are to be closed as of Wednesday.

The Airport Authority said the airlines should be contacted directly for hours of operation, acceptable types of cargo, prices and the status of shipment pending arrival.