Airport type Public Serves Cincinnati, Ohio Elevation AMSL 483 ft / 147 m Code LUK Phone +1 513-352-6340 | Owner City of Cincinnati Hub for Ultimate Air Shuttle 3L/21R 3,802 Elevation 147 m | |
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Address 262 Wilmer Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45226, USA | ||
Cincinnati Municipal Airport – Lunken Field (Cincinnati Municipal Lunken Airport) (IATA: LUK, ICAO: KLUK, FAA LID: LUK) is a public airport in Cincinnati, Ohio, three miles (5 km) southeast of Downtown Cincinnati. It is owned by the city of Cincinnati and serves private aircraft and the fleets of local corporations. It serves a few commercial flights and is the second largest airport serving Cincinnati after Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. It is known as Lunken Airport or Lunken Field, after Eshelby Lunken. It is bounded by US Route 50 (historic Columbia Parkway and Eastern Avenue) to the west, US Route 52 (Kellogg Avenue) and the Ohio River to the south, the Little Miami River (which originally flowed through the airfield but was diverted) to the east, and Ohio Route 125 (Beechmont Avenue) to the north. The airport is headquarters and hub for Cincinnati-based public charter airline Ultimate Air Shuttle, serving 5 destinations in the eastern United States with 16 peak daily flights. Lunken is also home to small charter airline Flamingo Air and its aviation school.
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History
Cincinnati Municipal Airport (Lunken Airport) was Cincinnati's airline airport until 1947. It is in the Little Miami River valley near Columbia, the site of the first Cincinnati-area settlement in 1788. When the 1,000-acre (400 ha) airfield opened in 1925 it was the largest municipal airfield in the world.
On December 17, 1925 the Embry-Riddle Company was formed at Lunken Airport by T. Higbee Embry and John Paul Riddle. A few years later the company moved to Florida, and later became the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. In 1928 the T. E. Halpin Development Co, later the Metal Aircraft Corporation produced 22 of the high-wing Flamingo at the airport. Also in 1928, Aeronca Aircraft Corporation was formed to build cheap light aircraft; the factory building, hangar 4, is still in use. Over 500 C-2 and C-3 aircraft were built here. Airline flights began in the late 1920s; in 1938 American Airlines and Marquette Airlines were using the new $172,000 terminal building.
Lunken Airport was supplanted by the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport after flooding from the Ohio River and introduction of larger aircraft that needed longer runways. The flooding prompted the airport's nickname of "Sunken Lunken". During the Ohio River flood of 1937, the airfield and two-story main terminal building at the southwest corner of the airport were submerged, except for the third-floor air traffic control "tower". A plaque (which appears from ground level to be a single black brick) on the terminal building, facing the airfield, indicates the high-water mark. In 1964 the FAA designated the airport as a general reliever airport. As business jet travel expanded, the 6100-ft parallel runway 2R was added about 1965 (requiring relocation of the Little Miami River).
Today the old control tower is home to the Lunken Cadet Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol, and is the oldest standing control tower in the United States. The property also contains public recreation areas, including an 18-hole golf course, playgrounds, and walking/biking paths on the levee surrounding the airfield. In 2009 Ultimate Air Shuttle began operations at Lunken with a flight to Chicago–Midway, and has since expanded to 4 cities including Chicago, New York, Charlotte, and Cleveland. Currently, many Cincinnati-area companies base their aircraft at the airport due to its proximity to downtown Cincinnati, but most airlines use Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. Various proposals have taken place to add air service to the airport, including by Allegiant Air, which started operations at CVG instead, and Flamingo Air, which didn't happen.
Airport visitors
In 1927 Charles Lindbergh landed at Lunken and was mobbed by well-wishers. In 1964 a large crowd of fans greeted The Beatles as they flew in to and out of Lunken for their concert at Cincinnati Gardens.
Several U.S. presidents and other dignitaries have arrived at Lunken; On October 30, 2007 Air Force One landed at Lunken as President George W. Bush visited abutting Cincinnati neighborhood Hyde Park for a fund-raiser for Republican Congressman Steve Chabot. On October 22, 2008 Republican Presidential candidate Arizona Senator John McCain and vice-presidential candidate Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin spoke to an enthusiastic crowd of 12,000 in hangar A-10. Gretchen Wilson performed to start the rally. Cindy McCain and Todd Palin were also in attendance. Introducing them was former Republican Congressman (now US Senator) Rob Portman. In 2011 the airport served as a backdrop for scenes in the film The Ides of March.
Facilities
Cincinnati Municipal Airport – Lunken Field covers 1,140 acres (460 ha) and has three runways:
Aircraft
In 2004 the airport had 108,904 aircraft operations, an average of 298 per day: 83% general aviation, 17% air taxi, 1% military and <1% scheduled commercial. 314 aircraft are based at this airport: 62% single-engine, 21% jet, 15% multi-engine and 1% helicopter.
Restaurant
Sky Galley Restaurant has been in nearly continuous operation for decades, and is so named because the first meals served on a commercial airliner (American Airlines) were prepared here. Sky Galley is housed in the original, Art Deco terminal building and has large windows and a patio dining area facing the airfield, allowing wonderful views of small aircraft and corporate jets taking off and landing. Pilots can taxi and park right outside the restaurant.