United Not Coming to Purdue Airport

United Airlines now offers two daily flight options to San Francisco from Indianapolis International Airport.

The operations manager for the Purdue University Airport says it is unlikely that commercial flights from United Airlines will be coming to West Lafayette. Adam Baxmeyer tells the Lafayette Journal & Courier the airport is no longer capable of handling commercial flights.

United plans to announce new routes between Chicago O’Hare International Airport and smaller cities in the Midwest. Baxmeyer tells the publication, "we are not aware of any imminent plans" for Lafayette to be included on that list.

"When any scheduled airline service returns to the airport, we would have to work with the airline and the Transportation Security Administration to reconfigure the terminal as, in its current state, it is not equipped," Baxmeyer told the Journal & Courier. "Like any business, airlines are going to deploy their assets where they are going to get the greatest return. For scheduled service to return to the Purdue University Airport, it would take a local commitment — not just from the university — to attract and use the service."

The publication says the airport hasn’t had commercial service since 2004. Baxmeyer says a partnership between Purdue University and the community would need to be created for a commercial airline to consider running a route to Lafayette.