Dedication ceremony at new airport set for Veterans Day at 1 p.m.

INDIANAPOLIS—An historic ribbon-cutting ceremony to dedicate the new Indianapolis International Airport and the Col. H. Weir Cook Terminal Building will take place Tuesday, Nov. 11 at 1 p.m. The first commercial flight scheduled to land at the new airport will be shortly after 8 p.m. that evening.

The outdoor ceremony will be held on the upper-level drive at 7800 Col. H. Weir Cook Memorial Drive, the airport’s new street address. In the event of inclement weather, the event will be held in Civic Plaza.

Indianapolis Airport Authority (IAA) Board President Randall L. Tobias; the Honorable Thomas J. Barrett, Deputy Secretary of Transportation; and Melvin Carraway, General Manager of Field Operations for the Transportation Security Administration will be speaking.

Current and former Indianapolis Airport Authority board presidents, city and county officials, and family members of the distinguished WWI and WWII flying ace Col. H. Weir Cook will be in attendance.

Music will be provided by the Indianapolis Firefighters Emerald Society Bagpipers. The Indianapolis Airport Police & Fire Honor Guard will post the colors. Airport police and fire officers Jason Garner and Ed Jordan will lead the Pledge of Allegiance. Anne Valentine will sing the national anthem. Rev. Yung Sheng Chen, member of the Indianapolis International Airport Interfaith Chaplaincy board of directors, will offer the invocation.

Following the speakers, a ribbon-cutting will be held, marking the official opening. A red ribbon nearly 1,000 feet in length will wind along the front of the stage and across the entire terminal frontage. Led by IAA board members and other dignitaries, hundreds of airport and airline staff will participate in the event.

After the ribbon-cutting, the Indiana National Guard’s 122nd Fighter Wing from Fort Wayne will participate in a flyover formation commemorating the event. Guests will be invited inside to view the temporary display honoring Col. H. Weir Cook.

A permanent display honoring the Hoosier hero will be installed in the Baggage Claim area near the south garden. It will feature personal memorabilia and other items including Cook’s goggles, medals, personal letters, pilot licenses, photos, antique model planes, and more.

The first scheduled arriving flights at the new airport will be after 8 p.m. on Nov. 11. The first scheduled departing flights will leave the new airport beginning the morning of Nov. 12.

The new Indianapolis International Airport includes a new terminal building, new parking facilities, new interstate access via I-70, and a new air traffic control tower. It was built without state or local tax dollars.