CLEVELAND — The announcement of non-stop air service between Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and Dublin, Ireland speaks to the future of travel from the airport as numbers return to pre-pandemic levels.
But as people return, the airport's shortfalls will become more pronounced and that's why airport leaders are looking to change things heading into the future. Yes, whenever anything is the first, as Hopkins was as the first municipally owned airport in 1925, it means it's old.
Airport leaders say just about every aspect from landside operations, to parking to rental cars was never considered for the type of airport we have today, 98 years later. That's why they're proposing a $2 billion overhaul, not just a facelift.
"We're going to be doing 70% reconstruction and 30 percent renovation of all of our facilities," said Dennis Kramer, Interim Director of Port Control.
When the airport was a Continental hub a large number of travelers that came through the airport never left the grounds. Today, 98% of travelers start or end their flight in Cleveland so the need is great to create more walkable parking spots, more ticketing and check-in space and security screening areas large enough to handle the volume in a post-9/11 era.
"It's going to be rebuilding a lot of the terminals to ensure that the modern airplanes and the modern flight patterns are accommodated," said Cleveland Councilman Kerry McCormack who chairs the council's transportation committee.
The roadways around the airport would also be redesigned with an elevated connecting road tied directly to Interstate 71 built to eliminate all airport traffic on Route 237. Something that roughly 95 percent of similar-sized airports already have.
The 20-year master plan unveiled last year is now before the FAA awaiting its final green light.
"Regardless of finalization we're moving forward with planning and preparation and all of those things you need to do to move towards implementation of the plan," Kramer said. "What we're doing now we call some master plan enabling projects, they'll be some demolition projects coming up to clear some developable land, some smaller preparatory projects that will take place to get us ready for implementation of the full-blown program."
That includes the now empty Sheraton hotel which will come down to allow for more parking and the long-vacant Concourse D will also be coming down as part of the eventual addition of a five gate Concourse E. The $2 billion pricetag may be big but it won't be coming out of the pockets of local taxpayers.
"Our airport is all funded by airline rates and charges and non-aeronautical revenues that we generate. There is no taxpayer dollars that support any of the things we do at the airport," Kramer said.
