By Jon Seidel, Post-Tribune staff writer
jseidel@post-trib.com
GARY -- The city's airport board suspended fund-raising efforts for a new customs facility this week, effectively ending its chances of landing a passenger airline from Mexico.
Chris Curry, director of the Gary/Chicago International Airport, said his board of directors decided it is more important to raise money for the airport's runway expansion.
"I'm always disappointed to lose what I think is an opportunity," Curry said, "but for the sake of prioritization, I agree with the decision that the board made."
By voting to "suspend" fund-raising efforts, Curry said, the board left open the possibility of returning to the project.
VivaAerobus filed paperwork with the U.S. Department of Transportation in March to begin offering direct flights between Mexico and Gary.
However, such flights aren't possible without a customs station at the Gary airport.
Though Curry originally estimated the cost of the station at $3 million, it quickly grew to $8 million.
Building a customs station would be useful, Curry said, because international airlines usually don't make contact with airports that don't fit their needs.
Curry said Gary will never know how many international airlines have passed on its airport.
"If Chicago ends up receiving the Olympics in 2016," Curry said, "that's something that might be really needed and provide a big benefit to Northwest Indiana."