The Indianapolis Airport Authority is pursuing flights to Heathrow Airport in London to meet the demands of a growing number of international travelers working in the Circle City.
about 360 daily travelers, including employees from local corporations such as Eli Lilly and Co. and Cummins, take overseas flights from Indianapolis to Europe, Asia and Africa. But to get there, they must catch connecting flights in Chicago or East Coast cities to take them across "the pond."
Airport officials said the time is right to offer nonstop flights from America's Crossroads to Europe.
"Indy is home to a number of businesses that have a global presence that could potentially benefit from the efficiency and convenience of a London flight," airport spokeswoman Stephanie McFarland said in an email.
The London route "would provide a gateway from Indianapolis into Europe, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Asia," McFarland said.
Despite its moniker, there are no overseas flights from Indianapolis International Airport. The only international flights departing from Indianapolis are to Toronto; Cancun, Mexico; and the Dominican Republic.
McFarland said airport officials will be talking to airlines, including British Airways, and Indiana businesses to monitor the demand. It also will weigh the interest of vacation travelers, to and from Europe.
"One of our challenges is encouraging travel from those international markets to Indianapolis, wher we must compete with other cities that have more destination recognition for their attractions, international notoriety," McFarland said.
Jon Mills, a spokesman for international engine maker Cummins, said scores of the company's 9,600 Indiana employees fly to their offices abroad on a regular basis, and nonstop flights from Indianapolis would be "very beneficial."
"We have operations all over the globe, so this would be convenient," Mills said. Cummins is opening a new headquarters In Downtown Indianapolis in January.
At a recent airport board meeting, members said they were competing with Nashville, Tenn., and St. Louis airports for international flights. Those airports don't fly overseas now, but the cities are probably better known to Europeans than Indianapolis.
Indianapolis plans to meet next year with British officials to find out what attractions here might draw Europeans.
Airport representatives met with the British consul general, British Airways officials and other domestic airlines, including United, to discuss the possible Heathrow flights.
Officials also have identified Frankfurt, Germany; Puerto Rico; Jamaica; and San Jose del Cabo on Mexico's Baja peninsula as destinations that are "underserved" by the Indianapolis airport.
The board said it would consider adding service to several West Coast cities, including Seattle, Portland, Ore., and Sacramento, Calif.
The 7 million passengers at Indianapolis airport so far this year are a 12 percent increase from the same time last year.
The most prominent contingent of recent travelers from Indianapolis to London went there in October -- the Indianapolis Colts, to play the Jacksonville Jaguars in a National Football League game.
The Indiana Economic Development Corp. and VisitIndy, the city's tourism arm, tried to arrange meetings with British Airways during the trip, but airline officials had scheduling conflicts, McFarland said. They have agreed to meet next year.
