CALL TO ACTION: HELP SAVE CNAS, BKL | April 8th, 2026 |
 The Cleveland National Air Show (CNAS) needs your help. And that help will be useful not just to the show, but to the larger North American air show community.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb has made closure of Burke Lakefront Airport (BKL) a priority for his second four-year term in office. The CNAS Board of Directors and staff have determined, for a variety of reasons, that the closure of this nearly 80-year-old general aviation airport in downtown Cleveland will mean the end of the air show that has been held on Labor Day weekend for more than 60 years. There are no viable options for moving the air show to another airport or conducting a remote show over Cleveland’s Lake Erie waterfront.
Mayor Bibb has proposed some vague alternative uses for the property, including public space and redevelopment concepts. But those “plans” remain conceptual, consist principally of artist renderings of what the reconfigured space might look like, and have not yet addressed a number of difficult financial issues and the fact that the airport sits atop a former city dump and likely toxic waste site.
CNAS has launched an aggressive and effective public relations program to mobilize and activate fans of the show. They have been joined in that effort by a consortium of general aviation interests (ICAS, AOPA, NBAA, GAMA, EAA and others) who are advocating to save both the air show and the airport.
This effort needs and deserves your support. The closure of a general aviation airport by an elected official, resulting in the loss of a long-standing air show, would set a precedent that would affect other events and communities across North America. And when ICAS members stand up for the Cleveland National Air Show and Burke Lakefront Airport, we stand up for the importance and value of all air shows and all general aviation airports.
TAKE ACTION TODAY
We encourage you to take two to three minutes now to contact the officials below and express your support for maintaining Burke Lakefront Airport and the Cleveland National Air Show.
· Senator John Husted 304 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 www.husted.senate.gov/contact-jon/ Phone: 202-224-3353
· Senator Bernie Moreno 284 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 www.moreno.senate.gov/share-your-opinion/ Phone: 202-224-2315
· Mayor Justin Bibb Cleveland City Hall 601 Lakeside Avenue, Room 227 Cleveland, Ohio 44114 Email: MayorBibb@clevelandohio.gov Phone: 216-664-2000
· Councilman Charles Slife Transportation Committee Chairman Cleveland City Council 601 Lakeside Avenue, Room 220 Cleveland, Ohio 44114 cslife@clevelandcitycouncil.gov
CNAS/BKL FACT SHEET
· The Cleveland National Air Show has been held over Labor Day weekend at Burke Lakefront Airport in downtown Cleveland, Ohio since 1964.
· The show welcomes more than 85,000 fans each year who generate a $17.9 million economic impact on Cleveland and $2.3 million in tax revenue.
· Burke Lakefront Airport has been operating on the waterfront in downtown Cleveland since 1947 and is projected to have an estimated $76.6 million dollar economic impact on the Cleveland economy.
· Burke Lakefront Airport sees more than 40,000 take-offs and landings every year, and the Greater Cleveland area does not have another airport or combination of airports that can support that activity if the airport is closed.
· This effort by Cleveland politicians to close Burke Lakefront Airport and put the Cleveland National Air Show out of business is a precedent that could negatively impact the future of general aviation airports and air shows for years to come. This issue deserves the attention and mobilization of every member of the air show community. Your voice can and will make a difference.
NEWS STORIES ON THIS ISSUE
To read news stories and analysis of this issue, use the links below:
· Organizers warn Cleveland National Air Show ‘cannot continue” without Burke Lakefront Airport
· Future of Cleveland National Air Show in Doubt Beyond 2026
· Cleveland Air Show's message to city about airport closing
| |