Indy South Greenwood Airport wins aviation award
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Indy South Greenwood Airport has been named the 2022 Airport of the Year by Aviation Indiana, an aviation advocacy association.
The city of Greenwood says the honor recognizes “outstanding efforts in economic development, aviation education, community outreach, airport promotion, safety and security, environmental improvements and aesthetics, networking and professional development and administration.”
The airport, which sees nearly 28,000 aircraft operations each year, says it experienced accelerated growth across aircraft operations, fuel sales, on-field businesses and airport employment throughout 2022. In addition, the airport opened BOLDAviation’s maintenance facility earlier this year, providing on-site maintenance capabilities.
The city says the airport’s operations have a more than $15 million annual economic impact on the surrounding area, without charging landing or ramp fees or receiving tax-base support.
“Indy South Greenwood Airport is an important asset for our city and a critical business resource for economic development,” said Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers. “With no landing or ramp fees, our airport allows business leaders and pilots to regularly fly to Greenwood with easy access to central Indiana. Having an award-winning airport is not something we take for granted.”
Additionally, the city says projects such as the recently constructed Experimental Aircraft Association’s Aeronautical Center of Technology and planned ramp expansion also contributed to the achievement. The city says the projects will ultimately support additional educational space and corporate air traffic opportunities.
“It made sense to build our business at Indy South Greenwood,” said Jason Newbold, founder of BOLDAviation. “By offering our services here, we not only can grow our business but also keep more tenants and their tax dollars in Greenwood. With the recent expansion of our flight school, we are looking forward to continuing to train future pilots. It is a great feeling to support the local community, and help support growth at the Indy South Greenwood Airport.”
Indy South Greenwood also houses businesses and organizations including flight schools, aircraft sales operations, charter business, Civil Air Patrol and Indiana State Police Special Operations.
In 2020, the airport was awarded more than $400,000 from the Federal Aviation Administration to support operations and lost revenue due to the pandemic, and to fund expansion of the airport’s apron, or tarmac, which is where aircraft are parked, unloaded or loaded, refueled, and boarded.