Proponents Fighting To Keep Downtown Heliports Open

 The city government of Indianapolis, Indiana, recently achieved its goal of shutting down the Indianapolis Downtown Heliport (8A4) and is trying to sell the property. And, the Portland, Oregon Department of Transportation (DOT) closed the only public heliport in the city’s downtown area, Portland Downtown Helistop (61J), in December.

However, local groups and Vertical Aviation International (VAI) are fighting both efforts, and in the case of 8A4, a public comment period on the proposal to allow it to close has been reopened until February 12. VAI is urging helicopter proponents to submit comments in support of keeping 8A4 open.

The Indianapolis Downtown Heliport was a jewel in the city’s crown and has long been used by local aeromedical operators, charter providers, and other operators, including Sweet Helicopters. Chuck Surack, who also owns manufacturer Enstrom Helicopter, founded the company, and he is one of those fighting to keep 8A4 open.

“It’s one of the first heliports in the country,” he said. “It doesn’t bother anybody, there’s never been a noise complaint. And it’s huge, and perfect for the eVTOLS. I’ve been saying that for the past four years.”

Four years ago, the city government under Mayor Joe Hogsett started the process to persuade the FAA to relieve the city from having to keep the heliport open. Recent grant assurances from the FAA would normally require the city to keep the heliport open for 20 years after the last funds were provided. However, the city, working with the Indianapolis Airports Authority (IAA), apparently persuaded the FAA that there was little interest in keeping the heliport open, and the FAA went along with the city’s plan to close the heliport, according to Surack. “They told the FAA there’s no one interested and no value to the thing anymore.”

Surack was aware of this effort, and he took whatever steps he could to prevent the closure of such a valuable facility. For the past four years and two months, Surack has been trying to communicate with the mayor’s office and the IAA. He has offered to lease the property or buy it for $15 million, which he says is $5 million more than the value of the land. “I know that once it goes away, they’ll never build it again,” he said.

Surack believes that the city has been neglecting the heliport to underscore the lack of interest in keeping it open. “For the last five or six years, it has not been manned. It’s supposed to be public and daytime-opened. But the doors are locked all the time. They got the answer they wanted by making less traffic. Now it’s stopped, and they shut it down in the second week of December.”

Sweet Helicopters kept using the heliport, despite the drawbacks, until it closed, including for aeromedical flights for a hospital customer. In an example of how the closing is affecting patients, a patient needing transport was too heavy for the helicopter to land at the hospital pad. 8A4 would have been ideal, but it was not available. The patient had to be driven in an ambulance for a much longer trip to the hospital.

Despite Surack’s efforts to communicate with those who want to close 8A4, he said no one has responded to him nor indicated any interest in his offer to lease or buy the property for a premium. He believes that the city wants to use the property for a soccer stadium; “I don’t necessarily want to buy it, but just want to keep aviation assets as aviation assets,” he said. “If I’m to buy it, that’s great. If not, I’m happy for IAA [to take it over].”

A ray of light did occur recently when the FAA agreed to extend the comment period for the proposal to allow the heliport to close, to February 12. Surack and VAI are serious about needing public comment to persuade the FAA not to allow the heliport to close. In any case, the FAA’s allowing an airport or heliport that has received recent grant money to close sets a poor precedent and may encourage other cities to shutter their aviation facilities.

“I don’t know whether on February 12, if it will reverse [the decision] or not,” Surack said. “We’re making an effort.”

“Public-use aviation infrastructure such as 8A4 is critical to supporting emergency response operations, business aviation, and the continued growth of the vertical flight industry,” according to VAI. “Once lost, this type of infrastructure is extremely difficult to replace.”

The plans to close 8A4 weren’t a secret; the FAA previously sought public comment in 2023, then in November 2024 issued a letter of intent approving the plan, VAI noted. On Dec. 15, 2025, the FAA announced the heliport’s permanent closure, but then reopened the comment period thanks to two formal requests received in December 2025.

In Portland, a major effort is underway to save 61J, which also closed last year. The Portland DOT explained that it had to be closed because the foam fire mitigation system used an environmentally unfriendly foam chemistry and that it would be too costly to switch to a safer foam.

A group of local helicopter operators and VAI are working with the Portland DOT to try to upgrade the mitigation system and reopen the helistop. While the city of Portland had asked the FAA to remove 61J from the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS), the city is working to reinstate the helistop so it can qualify for future FAA grant funds.