Gary/Chicago International Airport
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{| class="infobox bordered" style="width: 220px; font-size: 95%;" |- ! colspan="4" style="text-align: center; background-color: #4682B4; color: white;" |Gary/Chicago International Airport
|- !colspan="4" style="text-align: center; background-color: #4682B4; color: white;" |Runways |- !bgcolor="lightgrey" rowspan="2"|Direction !bgcolor="lightgrey" colspan="2"|Length !bgcolor="lightgrey" rowspan="2"|Surface |- !bgcolor="lightgrey"|ft !bgcolor="lightgrey"|m |- !align="left" valign="top"|12/30 |valign="top" align="right"|7,003 |valign="top" align="right"|2,135 |valign="top"|Asphalt |- !align="left" valign="top"|02/20 |valign="top" align="right"|3,603 |valign="top" align="right"|1,098 |valign="top"|Asphalt
Gary/Chicago International Airport located 3 mi (4.8 km) northwest of Gary, Indiana is operated by the Gary Chicago Airport Authority, the basis for which was formed by the Chicago Gary Airport Compact signed in 1995. It is located on the south end of Lake Michigan about 25 miles from Chicago. Nearby highway connections include I-90, I-80, I-94, I-65 and the Chicago Skyway.
Gary/Chicago is operating as the "third airport" for the Chicagoland area, supplementing Chicago's overcrowded major airports, O'Hare and Midway. While Gary/Chicago Airport's current operations do not include scheduled commercial passenger service, it has been designed with an eye towards growth, and the administration is courting the airlines aggressively. Numerous businesses, including Boeing and Whiteco, already base their corporate aircraft here. A National Guard installation is also under construction.
There are approximately 2 million people that can drive to the Gary airport faster than they can drive to Midway airport. There are nearly 3 million people that can drive to the Gary airport faster than they can drive to O'Hare airport -Paul Karas, Airport Director
Everything you can do at Midway, you can do here. We're bigger than Midway in many respects -Wil Davis, President and CEO of Gary Jet Center
Federal funds were secured in January 2006 to move railroad tracks away from the northwest corner to allow extension of the main runway to 9,000 feet, as well as add gates to the existing passenger terminal building. The recent creation of the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority is expected to draw more state and local dollars for infrastructure improvements and additions. While the majority of operating expenses for the airport are currently borne by the taxpayers of the City of Gary, there are some residents of nearby cities and towns that feel they are underserved by this arrangement and would be willing to pay taxes in return for expanded services at the airport, and some control in how those monies are spent.
This is going to be the next great Chicago airport, and it is going to be a tremendous asset to northwest Indiana and our neighbors in Illinois, -Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels
Expanding Gary/Chicago Airport is considered an alternative to expanding O'Hare and/or constructing a new airport at Peotone, Illinois, 43 miles south of Chicago. Advantages of expanding the Gary airport include its proximity to downtown Chicago (making it preferable to the Peotone site) and its vacant surroundings; whereas expanding O'Hare would threaten nearby homes and businesses and constructing a Peotone airport would threaten farms, the land around Gary/Chicago Airport is relatively underutilized. This plan is backed by the mayors of Gary and Chicago, while the Illinois state government is in favor of construction at Peotone. Tax revenues from a new airport at Peotone would go to the Illinois state government, while those from an expanded Gary airport would go to a regional airport authority, and thus to the cities of Chicago and Gary.
The last time I looked there was only corn over there between Peotone and Monee. There may or may not be a fourth airport for Chicago, but right now there is a third airport. And that's this airport -Paul Karas, Airport Director
On July 12, 2006, the Gary/Chicago Airport Authority announced that Airport Director Paul Karas would resign his position, at his own request. Deputy Director Chris Curry becomes the Airport Director, effective August 14, 2006.
Airlines and Destinations
There are currently no airlines offering scheduled service.Allegiant Air operates here on charters in cooperation with casino properties.
Past jet service had been provided by PanAm, Southeast Airlines and Hooters Air with flights to locations such as Hartford, Connecticut, St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Florida and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Prior to its bankruptcy problems in 2003, ATA Airlines had planned turboprop service to other Indiana cities.
Annual Air Shows
For many years airplanes seen in the Chicago Air and Water Show have flown from here, including the military's C5A Galaxy and the Thunderbirds. Since 1999, the Gary Air Show has based their operations here as well.External links
- [Gary/Chicago International Airport] (official site)
- [Friends of Gary Airport] - Not for profit group promoting GYY as an alternate to O'Hare and Midway
- Resources for this airport:
- * AirNav [airport information for KGYY]
- * FlightAware [airport information] and [live flight tracker]
- * NOAA/NWS [current] and [historical] weather observations
- * SkyVector [aeronautical chart for KGYY]
- * FAA [current GYY delay information]
- [Maps and aerial photos]
- * WikiSatellite view at [WikiMapia]
- * Street map from [MapQuest] or [Google Local]
- * Topographic map from [TopoZone]
- * Aerial image or topographic map from [TerraServer-USA]
- * Satellite image from [Google Maps] or [Microsoft Virtual Earth]
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