AOPA joins Ohio coalition supporting Burke Lakefront Airport

In October, Bibb—along with Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne—sent a letter to Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, Sens. Bernie Moreno and Jon Husted, and Rep. Shontel Brown asking that the federal government relieve the city of Cleveland of its obligation to keep the airport open. In it, they say “repurposing this uniquely situated, approximately 450-acre waterfront site for public access and job-creating development” is a “once-in-a-century opportunity.”

The coalition—known as the Lakefront Airport Preservation Partnership (LAPP)—sent a letter to those same leaders on November 19, highlighting that the FAA and the state of Ohio have awarded nearly $20 million in grants to improve the airport. Those grants require Burke Lakefront to remain open until the late 2030s.

“By accepting these grants, the city has agreed to operate and maintain the airport,” the letter states. “Temporary politicians should not be able to ignore or undo commitments made by their predecessors, which will have negative long-term impacts. Simply casting the airport to the wayside and placating to Mayor Bibb’s wishes is not in the best interest of the public, the aviation system, or the City of Cleveland.”

“Burke Lakefront Airport isn’t just used by general aviation pilots—it’s a vital asset to northeast Ohio and the country,” said AOPA Great Lakes Regional Manager Kyle Lewis. “Planes take off and land there more than 50,000 times each year, and the airport serves as an important link for public safety, medevac operations, Coast Guard missions and training, flight training, educational opportunities, and more. For example, just one medevac operator based at Burke Lakefront operates more than 500 medical and organ transplant flights there every year.

“In cases like this, if a public airport is going to close, the entity running that airport—in this case, the city of Cleveland—must prove to the FAA that the closure is in the public’s best interest, and they must provide a plan for another local airport to absorb the traffic and infrastructure,” added Lewis. “Mayor Bibb has done none of that. We’ve checked with other airports in the area. Many of them operate at or near capacity, and none of them can handle the influx of traffic or the expansion of infrastructure needed to support these operations.”

In its letter, the LAPP invited Bibb to meet with the group to discuss how the airport can continue to play an important role for the city of Cleveland.

Bibb has publicly pushed to close the airport several times since taking office in 2022. In 2024, he released two studies—one on the airport’s economic impact and one on alternative uses for the land. At the time, AOPA highlighted that the reports “offer a gut check to the city of Cleveland, proving the airport is better left as an airport.”