Cleveland-area students and professionals<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNATA (the National Air Transportation Association) joined the discussion urging a thoughtful, transparent, and fact-based evaluation of the airport’s long-term value to Cleveland and the Northeast Ohio region. “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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those who signed the letter noted that since the start of this year, the city council has provided four opportunities for airport-closure advocates to present their arguments. \u201cIt is only just and democratic that a similar forum be provided\u201d for citizens seeking a fully informed assessment of the airport\u2019s future, the letter signatories added. \u201cSuch a hearing would allow constituents and aviation professionals to share their unique perspectives, technical expertise and vital concerns directly with the council, ensuring a balanced and transparent decision-making process for the future of this critical asset.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The letters come on the heels of recently released data from the Ohio Department of Transportation, which finds that Burke Lakefront Airport generates $195 million in direct annual economic activity and directly sustains 664 jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The airport also generates significant tax revenue, attracts business investment to Cleveland and benefits the city in other important ways. For example, the Cleveland National Air Show, staged from BKL, draws more than 100,000 visitors and millions of dollars to the city\u2019s hospitality sector each year. That said, the event is purpose-built for production at BKL and show organizers have long maintained the air show cannot be moved to an alternate location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Burke Lakefront Airport also plays a central role in confronting a national challenge: the severe shortage of pilots and other aviation professionals, who are key to preserving America\u2019s global aviation leadership. The flight-instruction academies at BKL provide the city with a distinct advantage in leadership on a national priority, while helping local students find promising aviation careers. Closing BKL means closing off Cleveland\u2019s position as a \u201cclassroom\u201d for hundreds of professionals in a global industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOnce an airport is shuttered, it is gone forever, foreclosing opportunities for the businesses that rely on it today, and the potential for it to foster investment and economic growth in the future,\u201d said George Katsikas, president and CEO at Aitheras Aviation Group and member of the Lakefront Airport Preservation Partnership. \u201cThe highest and best use of this land is its current use: as a world-class aviation facility.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCleveland\u2019s aviation infrastructure is a competitive advantage for the city and region,\u201d Bolen concluded. \u201cNBAA joins with city residents and businesses in urging the council to pursue an informed, methodical approach as the basis for a balanced, consensus-based plan for Burke Lakefront Airport. A decision of this magnitude impacts not only existing airport users, but also the future of aviation and aerospace in Northeast Ohio.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) welcomes new calls from a host of Cleveland-area business, education and civic leaders for the Cleveland City Council to reject Mayor Justin Bibb\u2019s proposal to close Burke Lakefront Airport (BKL). More than 50 local business leaders joined dozens of citizens and other Cleveland voices in signing letters urging the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,115,55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-airports","category-national-news","category-ohio"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36175"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36175\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36176,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36175\/revisions\/36176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}