A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Senior Editor

Curt Epstein

Cleveland, Ohio is continuing its investigation into the possible closing of Burke Lakefront Airport (KBKL) with the release this week of the results of studies commissioned by the office of Mayor Justin Bibb.
The first, an Airport Layout Narrative Report, focused on the FAA requirements as well as the legal, operational, and financial implications of closing the airport. Due to its current FAA grant assurances—which will not expire until 2036—the airport is committed to remaining open for more than another decade, if the city does not accept any further improvement grants. If the city sought to close the airport sooner, it would still be liable for the repayment of millions of dollars in grants. Another avenue would be seeking congressional help to lobby the FAA for permission to close KBKL.
In 2022, the most recent year of available data, there were 40,000 operations at KBKL, less than half of what the airport saw during its peak years in the 1990s and 2000s.&nbsp;The <a href="https://www.clevelandohio.gov/sites/clevelandohio/files/2024-09/Burke%20Lakefront%20Airport%20Economic%20and%20Fiscal%20Impact%20Analysis_2024_08_27_final.pdf">studies</a> determined KBKL’s annual direct economic impact is $76.6 million, most of which it said would stay in the region if the dedicated general aviation airport would close, with Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and Cuyahoga County Airport able to absorb its traffic.
One loss would be the annual Cleveland Air Show—which is held at Burke and generates approximately one-third of its economic impact—that no other airports in the area could accommodate.
Possible redevelopment of the site, which occupies 245 acres of prime lakefront real estate, was also considered by the studies. Under one scenario—which specified retaining the majority of the property for parks and greenspace while zoning the remainder for mixed-use development—the report estimates annual economic activity of more than $90 million.
“The findings have reinforced my long-held belief that closing Burke is both possible and economically advantageous for Cleveland,” said Bibb, who added that the decision to close KBKL has not yet been made and that the application to the FAA has not yet begun.

New developments at airports including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.

Studies Ponder Closure of Cleveland's Burke Lakefront Airport

The studies show declining traffic and other uses for the Lake Erie property

Cleveland continues its investigation into the closing of Burke Lakefront Airport with the release of the results of studies commissioned by the mayor's office.

Cleveland Releases Burke Airport Closure Studies

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

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