CONNECTING FLIGHTS: Economic Development On The Radar Screen

Joe Hornaday

The only “reliever airport” for the Indianapolis International Airport with a crosswind runway is located at Mount Comfort Airport in Hancock County. Since its inception in 1977, the airport has been used to draw businesses and enterprise to the area.

According to the executive director of the Hancock County Economic Development Council Dennis Maloy, Mount Comfort Airport has been an attractive alternative for commuter traffic and general aviation purposes.

Unlike the Greensburg Municipal Airport, Mount Comfort Airport is not owned and operated by the local government, but is instead controlled by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and the Indianapolis Airport Authority. Despite the striking difference in the airports’ histories, there is a strong relationship between Hancock County government and the airport, and there are similarities between what Mount Comfort went through 32 years ago and what the Greensburg Municipal Airport is going through now.

“From an economic development standpoint, (the airport) is an asset,” Maloy explained. “We want the Mount Comfort Airport to be on our radar screen.”

There is a level of economic development that has occurred in small communities as a result of airports. Hancock County, by design, has pursued large distribution and logistics businesses because their county had an adequate airport, Maloy said.

Though it has helped, Maloy did point out that the airport has not always been a “key driver” in bringing in businesses and new infrastructure in the last five years. For business organizations looking at coming to Hancock County, the larger airport is not always a high priority.

“The presence of the airport (is just) like icing on the cake,” Maloy said.

Still, the capable airport at Mount Comfort is something that pulls its weight when it needs to.

“The goal of economic development is to enhance assets and limit liabilities,” Maloy explained. “Transportation infrastructure is a key asset to making the community a preferred business location.”

And for Maloy, working to support the enhancement of key assets like the airport is a priority. The Hancock Economic Development Council is currently working on a project that could bring a new business to the area, he said.

“We’re on their short-list because we have an airport,” Maloy stated.

Much of the air traffic at Mount Comfort Airport is the result of executive travel or general aviation purposes. Commercial flights and heavy freight traffic are not things the airport is equipped to handle. However, most of the executives and others who do use the Mount Comfort Airport do so to avoid the traffic and congestion of the larger airports. By landing in Hancock County, travelers are able to be in downtown Indianapolis just as quickly as if they had utilized the services of the Indianapolis International Airport. The Greensburg Board of Aviation Commissioners (BOAC) and others have often proffered that, with an expanded airport, the same kind of thing could happen for Greensburg and Decatur County.

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