Local Groups Band Together To Support Lakefront Airport

A coalition of more than 50 Cleveland-area business, education, and civic leaders is urging the Cleveland City Council to keep Burke Lakefront Airport (KBKL) open. Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb has proposed closing the airport and redeveloping the area as parkland and for commercial use.

“While we understand the desire to explore lakefront development, BKL is not ‘underutilized land’—it is a high-functioning transportation hub and an economic engine,” the leaders wrote in a letter to the city council. “Closing this airport would not only disrupt regional commerce but would create a permanent void in Cleveland’s infrastructure that can never be replaced.”

The airport supports $195 million in annual direct economic activity and 664 jobs, the leaders maintained, adding that KBKL also is a gateway for high-value tax revenue and corporate investment. In addition, they pointed to the annual Cleveland National Air Show, calling it a community landmark for more than 60 years that attracts more than 100,000 visitors annually. They cited its role as an educational platform for future pilots, mechanics, and engineers. 

“Without KBKL’s unique lakeside runways and infrastructure, this world-class event—and the millions of dollars it pours into the city—would likely cease to exist,” they maintained, and also called it a critical reliever for Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (KCLE).

NBAA and NATA lauded the letter on the issue, which has gained national attention. NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen called Burke Lakefront Airport “an indispensable economic engine” and said, “Equally important, the airport is a critical incubator for workforce growth in America’s aerospace industry, a key connectivity link for area businesses to cities across and beyond the U.S., a reliever airfield for Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, and a lifeline for the region’s advanced healthcare operations, including lifesaving medical flights.”

"Communities build airports with a long-term vision because they recognize that aviation infrastructure supports far more than aviation alone. Airports strengthen local economies, connect businesses, support emergency and medical services, create career opportunities, and provide transportation capacity that communities depend on for decades," said NATA president and CEO Curt Castagna.

The leaders have asked the city council to hold a forum to allow airport advocates to present arguments in support of the airport, pointing out that four such sessions have been held this year for those favoring its closure.