Cleveland officials on Wednesday outlined three possible paths to close Burke Lakefront Airport during the city’s latest Transportation and Mobility Committee hearing. These included waiting for federal and state grant obligations to expire between 2034 and 2039, seeking FAA approval based on a demonstrated benefit to the aviation system, or pursuing federal legislation directing closure.
“If we work with the FAA foreclosure or a congressionally directed action for closure, then it would provide some more near term clarity on next steps for Burke,” Jessica Trivisonno, the city’s deputy chief of staff and chief strategy officer, told council members, according to local WKYC.
Trivisonno noted that Burke Lakefront is “losing $1.7 million a year that has been subsidized by the airlines that fly out of Cleveland Hopkins,” while adding that a near-term closure could require repayment of about $7 million in grant funding.
She said one possible advantage of congressional action is that lawmakers could potentially direct the FAA to release the city from those obligations. City officials said they plan to meet with FAA representatives later this month, and under the federal process the agency would have to determine whether closing Burke would provide a “net benefit to aviation.”
Council members and aviation advocates raised questions about both the process and the consequences of closure.
AOPA Great Lakes Regional Manager Kyle Lewis said “it’s irresponsible for Mayor Bibb to not ask the FAA to take part in this hearing,” adding that “not seeking the input of those who control that process is a disservice to taxpayers.”
Lewis also argued that the mayor’s office had not yet shown that shuttering Burke Lakefront would benefit the aviation system.
On council, Michael Polensek criticized the city administration’s redevelopment concepts.
“The mayor went out on his own and asked that Burke be de-commissioned without any vote of this legislative body,” Polensek said, according to WKYC.
City officials noted that Burke Lakefront is no longer listed as a reliever airport in the FAA’s 2025-2029 planning document and argued that traffic, including medical flights, could be accommodated at Cleveland Hopkins and Cuyahoga County Airport.
The discussion follows Mayor Justin Bibb’s January statement that he wants Burke closed by the end of his second term, and a March city-commissioned study that outlined two redevelopment concepts for the lakefront property. Those projects come with projected costs in the hundreds of millions of dollars and estimated annual city tax revenue of roughly $2.6 million to $2.7 million.
Aviation groups including AOPA, the International Council of Air Shows, and the National Business Aviation Association have continued to argue that Burke Lakefront remains an important general aviation facility, handling business traffic, training, public-service flying, and other operations in close proximity to downtown Cleveland.
Council and city officials are scheduled to revisit redevelopment concepts and next steps on April 15, and Councilman Charles Slife has announced an additional hearing for airport stakeholders and aviation industry representatives after the current series concludes.
Mayor Bibb, since you are a member of the party that really doesn’t let the law get in the way of your actions, just do the Chicago Mayor Daley thing. Go out in the middle of the night and bulldoze the runways into rubble, closing Lakefront “Meigs”-style. Not inviting the FAA for their input says it all about his intentions. This is a done deal. Another reliever airport is soon to vanish.
Can anyone say mayor Daly? Chicago Meigs?
No mention yet of how the mayor will deal with the hazardous materials that the landfill was created with to originally build the airport. The last mayor gave up when he was told what the cost would be. Can you imagine the hazardous dust that would be released if construction crews were to start digging up the property? Any traffic that would be displaced would have to go to Hopkins. Cuyahoga County airport runway is not long enough for jets fully loaded with fuel for a long range flight. The state of Ohio has been in the past supportive of aviation. I’m surprised Columbus OH, state government hasn’t put their 2 cents in!
Maybe they should focus on East Cleveland and leave Burke Lakefront alone. The airport is loosing money because more than half of Cleveland is trashed and the city does nothing to correct it. I lived in Cleveland 20 years ago and visited recently, it’s shameful how far it has fallen. I’m guessing many major corporations have left Cleveland due to the governments mismanagement and high taxes.