Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport faces growing pressure for closure as city and county officials eye the property for lakefront development, but aviation advocates argue the facility has been grossly undervalued.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport faces growing pressure for closure as city and county officials eye the property for lakefront development , but aviation advocates argue the facility has been grossly undervalued.
Ned Parks, a pilot and president of the Northeast Ohio Pilots Association, said the airport’s economic impact has not been accurately measured. “The amount of economic impact this airport brings, I don’t think has been measured accurately, or at all,” Parks said. The campaign to close Burke Airport has intensified over the past year, with a study commissioned by the city last “A huge rush, and I will also tell you, the cost to get rid of the airport will be huge, and I don’t think anybody realizes the cost,” Parks said. Parks said closing the airport would force out or eliminate multiple businesses, two flight schools, and impact the air show.“The land mass at Cleveland Hopkins and Cuyahoga County, they don’t have it to accommodate the businesses that are on the airfield right now,” Parks said.He says the airport closure would significantly impact medical operations, particularly organ transplants that rely on Burke for quick access to Cleveland’s hospitals. According to the Cleveland Clinic’s website, over 1,300 organ transplants were conducted last year, and Parks says many of those organs made their way to the city through Burke Airport. “The amount of air traffic that comes in and out of here for the Cleveland Clinic hauling patients, as well as organs for transplant, we have two major transplant hospitals in northeast Ohio, and I can tell you moving those organs is a second-by-second activity,” Parks said.The city estimates Burke generates $107 million annually in economic impact based on 2014 data. Parks has proposed removing one runway to create development space while keeping the airport operational. “Call me, let’s sit down and have a conversation and let’s have it be a both and conversation not an either or conversation,” Parks said. Parks said he is working with partners to compile what he calls more accurate economic impact data and flight statistics, which he plans to release once completed.Man shot, killed at downtown Cleveland nightclub: EMS Grandfather, 3-month-old granddaughter found dead after they were attacked by family’s 7 dogs, police say Ryan Godbey’s mother after Stark County man accused in his murder dies: ‘His day in court will be in God’s hands’RTA rapid transit lines back in service after power outageBetter Business Bureau warns of puppy scams targeting holiday shoppers
Organ Transplant Flights Lakefront Development Cleveland Airport Closure Burke Lakefront Airport
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