Burke Lakefront Airport Future
At a glance
Based on an automatic speech-to-text transcript; names and numbers may be misheard.
What: Whether Cleveland should keep Burke Lakefront Airport open as a reliever airport for Hopkins or move toward closing it and repurposing the lakefront land.
Where it stands: Informational hearing held October 7, 2026; no closure legislation is before council and no vote was taken. A letter from the mayor and county executive expressing interest in eventual closure was read into the record.
Log
2026-10-07 - Transportation and Mobility Committee
The chair said the hearing was meant to hear from airport users and industry experts after earlier hearings with the administration, and that formal closure would require federal action and council authorization. Aviation and business groups, the air medical operator, the fixed-base operator, an aviation education nonprofit with students, and the air show spoke for keeping the airport open. They said Burke is trending toward about 50,000 operations a year, has not accepted federal grants since 2019, and that short leases keep tenants from investing; the fixed-base operator said it has invested more than $12 million since 2016 and handled 2,119 verified medical flights this year. A letter from air traffic controllers opposing closure was read. Members including Polensek, Kazy, Harsh, Starr, Gray and Jones spoke for keeping it open, citing $17.9 million in economic impact and $2.3 million in tax revenue; Davis questioned the value of corporate and sports traffic; Jones proposed reopening the old Aviation High School.