Story and Image Credit: Lisa Gordon
verticalmag.com
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has given stakeholders in the Indianapolis Downtown Heliport (8A4) another two weeks to register their public comments on the future of the facility.
In an unusual move on Jan. 9, 2026, the FAA – which approved the closure and decommission of the heliport in late 2024 – directed the Indianapolis Airport Authority (IAA), the facility’s owner, to pause all decommissioning activities. The regulator’s directive followed its receipt of two December 2025 letters, one from Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita and the other from local businessman Chuck Surack, both objecting to the heliport’s closure.
In response, the FAA issued a notice in the Federal Register seeking further public comment on the future of 8A4, initially providing a deadline of Feb. 12 — but then later extending the comment period to Feb. 26.
Meanwhile, last October, the IAA board voted unanimously to let the City of Indianapolis purchase the heliport for $10.8 million. City Mayor Joe Hogsett told the Indianapolis Star at the time that the approval would “unlock new redevelopment potential in our downtown core.”
Reportedly, Hogsett champions a plan that would see the heliport land redeveloped into a stadium that would be home to an Indianapolis-based Major League Soccer team.
That idea doesn’t sit well with Surack, owner of Enstrom Helicopter Corporation and Indiana-based Sweet Helicopters and Sweet Aviation.
“I got wind of this plan four years ago,” Surack told Vertical. “I have communicated many times in email and written form to the IAA. I have expressed that it’s a great asset for the state of Indiana and the City of Indianapolis, and that you shouldn’t turn an aviation asset into a non-aviation asset.”
For its part, the IAA said in a statement to Vertical that “the decision to close the heliport was due to lack of use and excessive cost of operations and maintenance.”
Further, the authority said it has worked closely with the FAA since 2020 to “responsibly decommission” the heliport and relocate its last tenant.
However, while the IAA says 8A4 didn’t make financial sense, Surack maintains that “eight or nine years ago, they quit staffing the facility and locked the doors; they really didn’t want it to be successful.”
Surack said he’s offered time and again to operate, lease, or purchase the Indianapolis Downtown Heliport, because he believes it is a valuable asset for public safety, business, and political travel.
In fact, when he heard, the IAA was preparing to accept the $10.8 million offer from the city, Surack hustled in with his own offer of $15 million.
“The mayor and the IAA never responded to any of my letters and offers,” he added. “They just kind of forgot to tell the FAA all about that, saying they didn’t consider my offer legitimate. Again, they are supposed to take the highest offer, and it’s supposed to go back for aviation services. They’re not really supposed to take an aviation asset and turn it into a non-aviation asset, unless there’s no other choice.”
The fate of the heliport, which was officially closed on Dec. 15, 2025, appears to be in limbo while the FAA collects additional public comments.
In addition to state Attorney General Rokita, other high-profile supporters of 8A4 include Indiana Governor Mike Braun, the Indiana State Police, and industry association Vertical Aviation International (VAI).
Bailey Wood, VAI’s strategic communications director, told Vertical that efforts to close the heliport are “short-sighted” — and once these facilities are gone, they’re gone.
“A facility like 8A4 plays an important role for emergency response, business aviation, public safety operations, and things that already support the activities of the city,” he said. “If the closure goes through — and given that this country is on a path to dramatically expand what vertical aviation is — it’s a very short-sighted view on the part of those who no longer want to support it in Indianapolis. As advanced air mobility grows and evolves and becomes more of a public use, facilities like that will need to be created. So, this is almost a ‘cut off your nose to spite your face’ situation, where they’re not considering the future.”
In June 2025, President Donald Trump signed “Unleashing American Drone Dominance,” an executive order designed to accelerate the commercialization of drone technologies and unmanned aircraft systems (including emerging technologies such as electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing, or eVTOL, aircraft) into the National Airspace System.
In a Feb. 4, 2026, letter to the FAA, Governor Braun said the Indianapolis Downtown Heliport could serve as an important center for drone and advanced aerial mobility testing.
“8A4 is a national security asset that can help establish drone leadership in the United States and directly supports the President’s national transportation strategy,” wrote Braun.
Surack agreed. “We are on the verge of eVTOL and drones — it’s a great facility with five acres of concrete and eight or nine landing pads. It could easily be cleaned up and fixed. It will be a great way to travel.”
He also emphasized the public safety case for the heliport. Days after 8A4 closed, said Surack, a medevac flight with a bariatric patient on board was unable to land at the IU Health Methodist Hospital helipad due to weight restrictions. The downtown heliport would have been the ideal alternative — instead, they had to land further out and bring the patient in by land ambulance.
The IAA told Vertical it is “highly unusual for the FAA to reverse a decision that has already been approved, which has been under review for five years.” Nevertheless, it remains in contact with the FAA and “in compliance with the FAA’s recent directive, IAA has suspended any further post-closure activity, which includes closing on the sale of the heliport.”
Surack isn’t sure what will come of the FAA pushing pause on the decommissioning of the Indianapolis Downtown Heliport.
“They’re seriously looking at it. I don’t know if I’m going to prevail or not, but I’m giving it a heck of a shot,” he said.
VAI’s Bailey Wood said the FAA’s extension of the comment period is positive.
“It’s a very good sign. The fact that they extended it means there is a great deal of interest, and I believe there is a great deal of interest in keeping the heliport open. “We have been strongly urging our members, particularly those in Indiana, to weigh in and tell them not to close the Indianapolis Downtown Heliport. It’s important public infrastructure, for now and for the future,” concluded Wood.
… notes from SP
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