Purdue to dedicate new Amelia Earhart Terminal
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The new Amelia Earhart Terminal at the Purdue University Airport opened in August 2025. (Provided Photo/Purdue University)
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After more than a year of construction, the Amelia Earhart Terminal at the Purdue University Airport (LAF) is ready for takeoff. The university will hold a dedication ceremony Friday morning to commemorate the facility’s completion.
SkyWest Airlines, a United Airlines partner, will operate 11 roundtrip flights per week from LAF to O’Hare International Airport. Each plane can accommodate 50 passengers.
“This is a great community asset that will complement a lot of our economic development and our community growth,” Purdue Associate Vice President for Auxiliary Services Jessica Robertson told Inside INdiana Business. “Our partnership with United couldn’t come at a better time.”
The $12 million project has been in the works since 2023, and the 10,000-square-foot terminal is open to the public.
The project was funded with $7 million in Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative, or READI, funds, $3.3 million in gift funds, and a $1.5 million federal grant.
In May 2024, commercial service returned to the Purdue Airport for the first time in 20 years through a partnership with California-based Surf Air Mobility Inc. Robertson told IIB the company “has decided to no longer service our community,” and United is stepping in.
“That connectivity to places around the world will bring a unique asset, and it’ll be a jewel for our community that we’ve not had before for a long time,” Robertson said. “All around this is a major upgrade for us, just from an amenities perspective, from a comfort perspective, from our travelers, and what we’re able to offer to the community.”
The terminal includes self-serve food and beverage service, a waiting area, Transportation Security Administration screening, ticketing and baggage claim. Parking is available for $5 per day.
Robertson told IIB the new space is a launch pad for other air service and connections and “probably just our starting point.”
Earhart, the terminal’s namesake, was the first female aviator to fly alone across the Atlantic Ocean and also worked as a Purdue instructor. Last month, the Purdue Research Foundation announced a partnership with the Archaeological Legacy Institute for an effort to locate Amelia Earhart’s lost aircraft and bring it back home.
The Taraia Object Expedition, a field team organized by the Oregon-based nonprofit, will visit the Pacific island Nikumaroro in November to confirm whether a visual anomaly known as the Taraia Object seen in satellite and other imagery in the island’s lagoon is what remains of Earhart’s plane.