FAA’s Bedford, Lawmakers Oppose Burke Lakefront Closure

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford weighed in on the push to close Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport (KBKL), telling a local television news station that the agency is against closing airports around the country. “We need to talk about how do we open new facilities—not how do we close existing, valuable real estate?” he told the ABC affiliate while on a tour of the Cleveland Air Route Traffic Control Center in Oberlin, Ohio, on Friday.

The administrator’s response came as Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb has called for the airport’s closure, saying it loses $1.7 million a year. Bibb has a vision of turning the land into a lakefront recreational area, as well as repurposing it for economic development. The airport, which is built largely on man-made landfill on the edge of Lake Erie, opened in 1947.

Mayor Bibb’s office has outlined three possibilities for closing it: waiting it out until 2039, when the city is free of grant obligations; having the U.S. Congress step in; or going through the FAA for approval.

Bedford’s remarks send a signal that the FAA would not support such an effort. As for going through Congress, U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) also stressed that lawmakers do not intend to step in either. “It would be patently absurd for a politician to override the experts at the FAA to say we know better than you do,” he told the affiliate station, later adding, “In the business world, we have the expression: Don’t talk about things that are never going to happen.”

Moreno also suggested Cleveland would be better served focusing on addressing other issues. The ABC affiliate also noted a similar statement from Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio).

NBAA praised the remarks, saying they validate comments of the local community that Burke is not a liability to be closed but rather should be strengthened. “We thank Administrator Bedford, and Senators Moreno and Husted, for recognizing that Burke Lakefront Airport is an essential community asset, critical to the city’s progress, prosperity, regional connectivity, and workforce opportunity,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen.

The remarks were also made as opposition builds to closing the airport, most recently with a letter sent from local area businesses and another from students and professionals urging the Cleveland City Council to reject the proposal.

NBAA also pointed to a recent Ohio Department of Transportation study that found that the airport generates $195 million in direct annual economic activity, sustains 664 jobs, and is an important reliever airfield for Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (KCLE).