Tom Collins Jr. Appointed as New Chairman of Gary/Chicago International Airport

The Gary / Chicago International Airport (GCIA) Authority named Tom Collins, Jr. as the new Authority Chairman. The position was first appointed by Indiana Governor Mike Braun earlier this week and formally announced during today’s monthly meeting of the premier airport’s board of directors, known as the GCIA Authority. Mr. Collins has been a member of the airport’s board of directors since early 2022 as the Porter County appointee. This summer, Mr. Collins was elected by a vote of the GCIA Authority to become its Secretary.

 

Mr. Collins is the President and CEO of Luke Family of Brands, a family owned and operated business founded in 1967 that employs 1,200 Hoosiers across 15 different industries. Mr. Collins, a resident of Porter County in Northwest Indiana, has seen the company diversify its portfolio to include retail, hospitality, retail and development.  

 

The 7-member Authority serves as the decision-making body for GCIA and has oversight on all airport policies, operations and budget. The Authority members are appointed to 4-year terms by an intra-governmental agreement, with the Authority Chairman appointed by the Governor of Indiana, four (4) commissioners appointed by the Mayor of the City of Gary, and a single commissioner each appointed by Lake and Porter counties, respectively.

 

Incoming Chairman Collins takes the reins of the airport during a time of continued growth and sizeable investments from the public and private sectors. The airport has seen substantial expansion over the past decade, including the 2015 expansion of the airport’s main runway to nearly 9,000 feet, making it the region’s second longest after O’Hare International Airport (ORD). The runway expansion allows GCIA to service larger and heavier aircraft, up to and including a 777, one of the largest planes operating globally.

 

GCIA also opened its premier U.S. Customs and Border Protection Facility in late 2018, allowing international travelers to frequent GCIA without first needing to clear customs elsewhere.

 

In 2020, GCIA began cargo service operations via UPS, who signed a long-term lease agreement. Cargo service operations have quickly scaled, and GCIA now ranks 3rd in the State of Indiana on its freight volume, with further growth anticipated in coming years.

 

In 2022, GCIA received formal FAA approvals for its Master Plan, a document that will guide the next several decades of airport development and growth. In late 2023, GCIA announced the acquisition of the Griffith-Merrillville Airport, with this now providing additional operations capacity for GCIA and making it one of three (3) aviation systems in the State of Indiana.

 

2024 saw multiple milestones reached, including unveiling its new website, breaking ground on a new $12 million, 47,000 square foot aviation hangar as well as breaking ground on “Phase 1” of a planned $67 million cargo services infrastructure investment that will boost its growing cargo sector. This effort coincided with the airport agreeing to a long-term extension with UPS, further enlarging the airports cargo capacity. The year also saw the airport awarded a $1.7 million Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grant to design and engineer a new, state-of-the-art airport traffic control tower.

 

2025 has seen a continuation of this growth and modernization. In March, it announced a nearly $17 million bond sale that will fund significant capital improvements at the airport, including core infrastructure, new hangar construction, renovations to the airport terminal and an expanded cargo and logistics center.  April 2025 saw the airport acquire nearly 5 acres of land enabling the future expansion a “Phase 2” cargo services offering. August saw the awarding of a $15 million contract to construct the cargo and general aviation ramp, with the bid being the largest awarded since the 2015 expansion of the airport’s main runway, as well as a nearly $10 million grant allocation that will ensure its Phase 1 cargo services expansion is completed in 2025.