# Burke Lakefront Airport (BKL)

> Cleveland, US · IATA: BKL · ICAO: KBKL · Medium Airport

## Quick Facts

| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| IATA | `BKL` |
| ICAO | `KBKL` |
| City | Cleveland |
| Country | US |
| Type | Medium Airport |
| Elevation | 178 m |
| Cargo | ❌ |
| GPS | 41.51750, -81.68330 |

## Description

Prime waterfront land next to a downtown skyline, used as an airfield: the tension around Burke Lakefront (IATA: BKL, ICAO: KBKL) explains why Cleveland keeps studying what else the site could become. Opened in 1947 on filled Lake Erie shoreline, the field serves as a reliever for Cleveland Hopkins and handles business jets, charter flights and flight training; there are no scheduled passenger services and therefore no belly cargo. No cargo terminal, freighter handling or standing air-cargo customs facility is documented at BKL — air freight for north-east Ohio is processed at Cleveland Hopkins (CLE), the region's port of entry, on the city's south-west side. Shippers needing pure freighter capacity also use Rickenbacker International (LCK) near Columbus, roughly 220 kilometres south-west and one of the few US airports built around all-cargo operations, with Detroit (DTW) and Chicago O'Hare (ORD) covering intercontinental lanes. Trucking runs on Interstates 90, 77 and 71, and the Port of Cleveland on the St Lawrence Seaway offers a multimodal route for oversized project cargo. The airport's future stays contested: the city commissioned redevelopment studies from 2024, city council opened public hearings in January 2026, and in August 2026 the FAA publicly opposed closure — which grant obligations would in any case delay until 2039 without federal agreement.

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*Freight Academy — Airport Profile: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/burke-lakefront-airport-bkl](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/burke-lakefront-airport-bkl)*

*Markdown mirror: [https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/burke-lakefront-airport-bkl](https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/burke-lakefront-airport-bkl)*

*LLM-Summary (JSON): https://www.freight-academy.com/api/v1/airports/burke-lakefront-airport-bkl/llm-summary*