FAA approves closing downtown Indy heliport

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Federal Aviation Administration green-lit closing the heliport in downtown Indianapolis, making way for Mayor Joe Hogsett’s plan to develop the area for a future Major League Soccer team.

On Nov. 25, the FAA sent a letter of intent to release the Indianapolis Airport Authority from any federal obligations. It also gives the IAA the go-ahead to close the Indianapolis Downtown Heliport sometime in 2025.

No exact date for closing was provided. The IAA filed to close the heliport in June 2021, citing high costs and declining use.

FAA Associate Administrator for Airports Shannetta R. Griffin says both the state and the agency agree that the heliport is underutilized.

“The FAA finds the closure of the Indianapolis Downtown Heliport will not impact the national
system of airports,” Griffin said. “Due to the lack of aeronautical use of and interest in the heliport, the lack of helicopters based at the Heliport, and the proximity of other actively used public use airports
available to helicopters located in the vicinity.”

According to the six-page letter, 270 people submitted responses to a public comment period in 2023. All the comments were opposed to the closure.

It also says in the last 18 months, there were no offers to buy or operate the heliport.

In a statement to News 8, Megan Carrico, IAA director of public affairs, says the process took nearly four years.

“The Heliport will remain open and active until its only tenant, IU Health LifeLine, moves its operations to a new facility at the Indianapolis Regional Airport,” Carrico said. “That transition, along with some additional steps required by the FAA, must be completed before the heliport’s closure can occur. The IAA plans to sell the site for fair market value — as FAA regulations require. This real estate sale is part of IAA’s broader Land Use Initiative that has been in progress since 2017 and focuses on returning land no longer needed for aviation use back into productive use for the community.”

The letter outlines 10 conditions that must be met before the IAA can fully close the Indianapolis Downtown Heliport.

• Removing any functioning aircraft and related operations.
• The FAA needs to publish the closure in the Federal Register at least 30 days before the proposed date.
• Have an airspace study done and use the Flight Procedures Gateway, an FAA data portal, at least 90 days before closing to request cancellation of certain approach procedures.
• Update and review appraisals for a “fair market value sale” of the heliport. Provide those appraisals to the FAA within six months of the proposed date of closure.
• Have a comprehensive planning study on air mobility and e-vertical take-off and landing activities at the IAA’s airports done within three years. A date for when the study will start also needs to be given to the FAA.
• Issue any “Notice to Air Missions” needed to close the airport, with approval by the FAA’s Great Lakes Regional Airports Division.
• Get rid of any markings and disconnect lights at the heliport once it’s closed.
• Sell the land the heliport is on for at least a “fair market value.”
• Show the money made from the sale of the heliport is in the appropriate IAA account and that it was sold for a “fair market value, within 60 days of the sale closing. The IAA needs to then reinvest those funds into eligible projects.
• Transfer any IAA-owned equipment at the heliport to other airports.

Griffin says the heliport was appraised twice in May 2022. In June of the same year, an independent third party apprised the heliport for a third time at $9.5 million, which is the current accepted fair market value of the heliport.

This April, Hogsett announced plans to bring an MLS team to Indianapolis, with plans to build a stadium at the site of the heliport.