Clark talks to IBJ about how the airport can increase revenue by diversifying its sources of income. The airport can’t rely
on higher passenger counts to boost its bottom line.
Indianapolis International Airport, already suffering from a 10-percent drop in passenger traffic and a projected $15 million
revenue shortfall this year, is also feeling financial drag from its single most important tenant. FedEx Express cargo shipments,
which amount to about half of the $25 million in airfield fees generated at the airport, fell
16 percent in the first three months of this year vs. the same period last year.
The Indianapolis Airport Authority has fired back against a Hebron, Ky.-based contractor that alleged in a lawsuit last December
that the airport operator failed to pay in full on a $14.7 million contract to build aircraft parking spaces.
A suburban Cincinnati construction company known for airport and interstate projects alleges the Indianapolis Airport Authority
has failed to pay on a $14.7 million contract to build aircraft parking spaces.
Five airlines at Indianapolis International Airport–all of them paying higher fees and rents to help
pay for the $1.1 billion midfield terminal–complain they may be stuck footing the bill for part of the
$214 million FedEx cargo-hub expansion.
ATA Airlines Inc. largely blames FedEx Corp. for knocking it out of business this spring. Now, the bankrupt airline is preparing
to fight back by suing the Memphis cargo giant, charging it wrongfully canceled a military-charter contract that generated
hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for ATA.
Indianapolis airport officials are considering building a smaller version of FedEx’s 2-million-square-foot hub here, one
that could accommodate several cargo carriers from around the globe. The “international air cargo facility” could be up to
several hundred thousand square feet large and could cost tens of millions of dollars to build.
