![]()
Photo of Gary/Chicago International from GYY FacebookTwo Indiana airports are now under the same ownership after the Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY) Authority board finalized the purchase of the Griffith-Merrillville Airport (05C) for $1.8 million.
Gary Airport Executive Director Dan Vicari told Lakeshore Public Media that the purchase will open up federal grant opportunities for the Griffith Airport and provide more flexibility for GYY moving forward.
"If one day, we become an airport that is nothing but heavier jet traffic, there's a way to take smaller piston aircraft and base them there, instead of here," Vicari told Lakeshore Public Media.
Lakeshore Public Media reported that former Griffith Airport owner Craig Anderson will continue in his role as manager. With the deal, the airport authority will pay Griffith Aviation, Inc. $3,250 monthly to manage the facility, with a five-percent share of the revenue from a 76-unit self-storage facility on the airport property. The acquisition took one year to complete, but Griffith has been searching for a public sponsor since 2014. Vicari told the news outlet that this was due to the FAA making it harder for privately owned airports to qualify for grants.
Northwest Indiana Times reports that the sale was ratified on Wednesday by Gary Airport's board. The sale will provide Gary with operational flexibility to expand cargo services and provide Griffith with long-sought public ownership necessary to make it eligible for federal grants.
"By this move, we certainly will be able to do that and provide a greater opportunity, not only for the city of Gary, but the entire region to grow and focus on cargo development," Gary Mayor Jerome Prince told Lakeshore Public Media.
This purchase has been years in the making. When the FAA changed grant eligibility in 2014, funding for most privately owned airports was eliminated and many private owners were forced to transition to public-sector ownership to maintain operations.
"Operating a privately owned public-use facility without grant funds is almost impossible to do anymore," Anderson said to NWI Times. "Years ago you could do it. Not anymore."
Northwest Indiana Times reported that Griffith Aviation Inc. initially discussed the possibility of the Town of Griffith buying the airport, but eventually turned to Gary and negotiations began in late 2022. Officials said in a news release that the purchase will build on the past decade of growth Gary has seen. The $1.8 million acquisition was funded by previously budgeted money from local airport revenue sources. The sale was reportedly supported by the FAA and the Indiana Department of Transportation.
According to Inside Indiana Business, Griffith was established in the 1960s but was rebuilt in 2021. The airport is designed for smaller aircraft and includes 4,900-foot runways, over 175,000 square feet of ramp space and a 38,000-square-foot terminal building. Gary has seen major growth in recent years, including a $174 million runway extension in 2015 to extend the length of Gary's main runway to 9,000 feet. In 2016, Gary completed a $2.4 million rehabilitation of a crosswind runway. In 2018 the airport opened a new GA U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility and since then, has competed over 400 international flights.
Gary began cargo operations in 2020, according to Inside Indiana Business. The airport is also preparing to return to passenger service. Board chair Pete Visclosky told the NWI Times that the airport will not give up on commercial passenger flights. In 2022, airport officials approved a contract with a consulting firm to meet with airlines regarding a return to service. Gary has not had passenger services since Allegiant Air ended operations in 2013.
"Everything the employees at this airport do and everything that the board members do is geared toward growing this airport and securing passenger service," Visclosky told Lakeshore Public Media. "It is also geared to growing our cargo operations, and it is also geared to growing our general aviation business, as well."
This latest purchase will benefit both Indiana area airports through both growth and funding opportunities.