Cleveland raises idea of consolidating county airport at Burke Lakefront
The city of Cleveland would like Cuyahoga County to close Cuyahoga County Airport in Richmond Heights so that general aviation traffic can be consolidated at city-owned Burke Lakefront Airport. Ricky Smith, director of the city's Department of Port Control, which operates Burke and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, brought that idea to Cleveland City Council's aviation committee this morning at a special committee meeting at Cleveland Hopkins. Burke has sufficient capacity to accommodate small aircraft traffic now handled by the two small airports, Mr. Smith said. He added that the county is faced at the airport in Richmond Heights with problems meeting new federal safety requirements, including neighborhood opposition to the county's plan to extend the runway in response to a Federal Aviation Administration mandate for extended safety zones at the ends of runways.
Mr. Smith said he also believes Burke can handle the dozen corporate aviation operations now based at county airport as well as the headquarters and hangars of Flight Options LLC, a fractional jet ownership management company based at the county airport.
County commissioner Peter Lawson Jones was taken aback by the proposal when a Crain's Cleveland Business reporter asked him about it this afternoon.
“This is a surprise to me,” he said.
But Mr. Jones added that he has always supported the coordination of aviation services between Burke and county airport, though he said any discussions should consider three options: moving all general aviation operations to Burke, moving them to the county airport or continuing the status quo.
“Obviously, I'll listen to whatever (the city) is proposing,” he said.
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