NATA Adds Aviation Service Industry Perspective to Burke Lakefront Airport Discussion

NATA (the National Air Transportation Association) has joined the growing discussion surrounding the future of Burke Lakefront Airport (KBKL), urging a thoughtful, transparent, and fact-based evaluation of the airport's long-term value to Cleveland and the Northeast Ohio region.

NATA recognizes public-use airports as strategic infrastructure assets whose value extends well beyond aviation operations. Burke Lakefront Airport exemplifies that role. As the FAA-designated reliever airport for Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (KCLE), it is an integral part of the region's transportation network and the National Airspace System, supporting commerce, emergency response, workforce development, regional connectivity, and the safe and efficient movement of aircraft. Together, those functions illustrate the broad public benefits aviation infrastructure provides to communities, businesses, and the nation's transportation system.

"Communities build airports with a long-term vision because they recognize that aviation infrastructure supports far more than aviation alone. Airports strengthen local economies, connect businesses, support emergency and medical services, create career opportunities, and provide transportation capacity that communities depend on for decades," said NATA President and CEO Curt Castagna.

"As Cleveland considers the future of Burke Lakefront Airport, it’s important to evaluate both the challenges and opportunities that redevelopment may create, but also what the community would lose if the airport were no longer there. Airports are strategic public assets that support businesses, residents, visitors, emergency responders, and the broader transportation network while helping communities remain connected and competitive.

Communities can pursue redevelopment while preserving and strengthening their aviation infrastructure. Those goals are not mutually exclusive. The better question is how Burke Lakefront Airport can continue to evolve to meet changing community needs while preserving the connectivity, economic opportunity, and public benefits it provides.

Once aviation infrastructure is removed, it is rarely replaced. Our responsibility is to ensure these public assets continue to evolve to meet changing needs while preserving the value they provide to the communities they serve."