Purdue aims to restore commercial air passenger service

Purdue University’s plans call for the construction of a new $11.8 million airport terminal that it hopes will attract commercial passenger service.(Rendering courtesy of Purdue University)

The first shovel of dirt won’t be turned on the $15.4 million terminal and runway project at Purdue University Airport until May, but university officials already are busy making moves to restore commercial passenger service for the first time since 2004.

“It’s an extremely busy time,” said Robert D. Wynkoop, Purdue’s vice president for auxiliary services. “We’re both organizing a large capital project and having conversations throughout the week with different airlines, getting a deal done to bring commercial air service to the greater West Lafayette area.”

Returning commercial service to the 537-acre facility is the top goal for the entire project. Such a coup would provide an easy on-ramp to the nation’s air grid for the entire Purdue/Lafayette area.

“There are over 5,000 airports that are recognized by the federal government as playing some role in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems,” said Greg Pecoraro, president and CEO of the National Association of State Aviation Officials. “Having access to commercial service will increase Purdue’s ability to access the aviation system. If you’re trying to reach Purdue or Lafayette, you might have to transfer flights a couple of times, but in the end of that final flight, you’re going to be where you want to be.”

The master plan for the redesign was developed by Dayton, Ohio-based Woolpert, an architectural, engineering, geospatial and strategic consulting firm. The main improvements include building a new terminal, plus extending the airport’s primary runway from 6,600 to 7,000 feet, and its secondary runway to 5,000 feet.

Even without such upgrades, the place is already kind of a big deal. It’s the state’s second-busiest airport by traffic (after Indianapolis International Airport), handling roughly 90,000 takeoffs and landings annually, largely because of the high number of student pilots trained there. Established in 1930, it’s also the nation’s oldest university-run airport—one of only a handful in the entire country.

Its main runway, even before it receives its extension, has accommodated aircraft as large as Air Force One. And having the facility on the school’s property has done wonders in attracting students and faculty to Purdue’s aerospace programs.

Even Amelia Earhart was impressed. The noted aviatrix, who served as a career counselor in the Department of Aeronautics from 1935 to 1937, was reportedly convinced to sign on by the airport, which at the time was the only university facility of its type in the country.

The nearby city of Lafayette is more than a little excited about restoring commercial air service to Purdue. Currently, anyone who wants to take a long trip by air must begin that journey by driving to either Indianapolis or Chicago. This can be a severe handicap to attracting businesses and people, which is why Lafayette’s administration has done pretty much everything possible to aid the project.

“We’ve been working on bringing back commercial air service for several years,” said Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski. “We’ve all committed $7 million [in Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative, or READI, funds] to help do the upgrades and construct the terminal that’s needed to make this possible. It’s been a collaborative community effort to bring all these pieces together.”

One of the things his city did was help to generate statistics showing there’s enough potential traffic from the Lafayette area to support commercial service.

“We know we’re going to have to start small and work our way up, and prove that there is a market here,” Roswarski said. “I certainly believe there is a market here. This is important for economic development, and it’s a big, big step for the entire community.”

Wynkoop is also proud of the area-wide effort to make the project happen. The lineup of advocates includes both Lafayette, West Lafayette and various other regional organizations.

“It’s really awesome to see everyone come together and gel on this project,” he said.

Wynkoop wants the very first commercial service to link Purdue with a Chicago airport (preferably O’Hare International Airport), which would open a plethora of national and international connections for the school’s large contingent of overseas students and faculty. Not to mention making life easier for executives visiting the area’s numerous factories and tech businesses, who would no longer face a long, boring drive along I-65 at the beginning and end of each visit.

“We’ve done the data analysis and found that 55% of the people who travel from the greater Lafayette area to an airport are traveling to a Chicago airport,” he said. “I love the Indianapolis airport, and they’re trying to get to more international points, but it’s still easier to get that international flight out of Chicago right now.”

He hopes to announce a deal with an airline by the end of this year, with service starting the first quarter of 2024.

If the Chicago service happens, he said, an economy carrier might visit several times a week, flying something a little smaller than a 737. But that likely won’t be the end of development at the airport. Purdue already hosts aerospace firms ranging from a Rolls-Royce research facility to a Saab factory producing pilot training jets for the U.S. Air Force. Wynkoop said an upgraded airport, which is already the centerpiece of the university’s Purdue Research Park Aerospace District, could attract even more companies.

Also, the new terminal and runway work might not be the end to the facility’s improvements. For instance, the Woolpert master plan reserves space for a potential third runway for uncrewed aircraft systems, along with a potential research park.

“Communities with airports are definitely going to benefit from them in the years ahead,” Pecoraro said. “Air travel is always going to be the quickest way to go, and new air mobility technologies and new entrants into the aviation field are going to make it easier. It’s in the interest of communities to hang on to their airport, because it’s going to create opportunities for them.”

And it’s hoped that, if Chicago service can be secured, other locations might come online.

“I think there are a lot of people in this area going to places in Florida, or they’re going to Vegas or somewhere warm during the winter,” Wynkoop said. “We believe the volume is there, certainly seasonally, for a low-cost carrier to support that market.”•