Senators, FAA administrator oppose Burke Lakefront closure

Those comments came on August 14 after Moreno and Bedford toured the Cleveland Air Route Traffic Control Center in nearby Oberlin, Ohio, and spoke with News 5 Cleveland and Fox 8.

“You have a really significant asset at the Burke Lakefront field and [closing the airport] would be counterproductive both economically and certainly from safety,” said Bedford.

“It would be patently absurd for a politician to override the experts at the FAA to say, ‘We know better than you do,’” said Moreno. “In the business world, we have the expression, ‘Don’t talk about things that are never going to happen.’”

“At this time, Senator Husted believes any change to Burke Lakefront should go through the traditional process so the FAA can properly assess any plans for the property’s future,” Husted’s office said in a statement.

“We appreciate Senators Moreno and Husted, and Administrator Bedford, for recognizing the value of Burke Lakefront and its importance to our national airspace system,” said AOPA Great Lakes Regional Manager Kyle Lewis. “Congress was the shortcut that Mayor Bibb was counting on to close the airport. We have worked behind the scenes for months and had many productive conversations with local and federal officials on this important issue.”

Bibb has talked about closing the airport, which sits less than one mile from downtown Cleveland, since his first term began in 2022. In October 2025, the proposal gained new steam when Bibb—along with Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne—sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Moreno, Husted, and Rep. Shontel Brown asking them to support the mayor’s push to close the airport.

As a result, AOPA fostered the development of the Lakefront Airport Preservation Partnership (LAPP)—a coalition made up of local businesses, pilots, aviation organizations, and schools—to oppose the “misguided” attempt to close the airport. The coalition sent its own letter to those same federal officials a few weeks later.

“By accepting these grants, the city has agreed to operate and maintain the airport,” the coalition wrote. “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.”

Between January and April, the Cleveland City Council’s Transportation and Mobility Committee held a series of four hearings exploring the possibility of closing the airport, and the implications it would have on the community.

The council discussed three pathways to closing the airport:

• Wait for current federal and state grant obligations to expire in 2036 and 2039, respectively.

• Apply for closure with the FAA, which requires that the city prove the closure is a “net benefit to aviation.”

• Pursue federal legislation to close the airport, circumventing the typical process.

Federal legislation was the only option that could both accelerate closure and relieve the city of its grant repayment obligation. But those hearings only included the staff from the mayor’s office and consultants who worked to make the mayor’s case.

“When the book is written about the mayor’s unsuccessful fight to close Burke Lakefront, the claims made during the council hearing will certainly be a low point,” said Lewis. “They repeatedly said the Cleveland National Air Show, which draws attendees from around the world, could continue. They said nearby airports could simply absorb the 50,000 additional operations from Burke each year, and they said concentrating more traffic in a smaller area would be safer. Each of these was false, and pretending this would have benefited the aviation system did a disservice to Cleveland taxpayers.”

After the fourth hearing on April 15, the committee agreed to at least one additional hearing so council members could hear from airport stakeholders and supporters, but it was never scheduled. The LAPP sent a letter in June urging that the hearing be scheduled. Committee Chairman Charles Slife responded saying that “time sensitive issues and active legislation” were taking priority since there was “no definitive redevelopment plan or legislation before Council seeking approval for closure.”

Industry stakeholders would still welcome an invitation to be heard before city council, which may be more impactful at this point, ensuring council members are aware that stakeholders are willing to invest in the airport. The City Council can make that happen, and with closure taken off the table by the FAA and Congress, this is the best path forward.

The week after the fourth hearing, AOPA and a number of national aviation organizations met with FAA Associate Administrator for Airports Daniel J. Edwards to express unified opposition to the proposed closure. During the meeting, Edwards said that safety would be the top priority when examining any potential closure.

From the beginning, the LAPP and AOPA have urged the city to pursue an airport master plan with the FAA, which would provide an unbiased path forward that takes the needs and concerns of all parties into consideration.

“With the FAA administrator and Senators Moreno and Husted all opposing the closure, the mayor should work with the FAA to develop an airport master plan,” said Lewis. “We believe it will show what the LAPP has said all along—that the best outcome for Cleveland is keeping the airport open while exploring the possibility of using non-aeronautical use land for new compatible development—to help the airport achieve its full potential.”

The airport remains obligated to operate at least until 2039 based on the past acceptance of federal and state grants. The focus of LAPP and AOPA will now turn toward advocating for investment and future development of aeronautical infrastructure that will keep the airport sustainable into the future.