akron canton airport

Akron Canton Airport (CAK)

By

Ali Ousmane Mahamane

AVN 3090 - Airport Planning & Administration

University Of Nebraska at Omaha- Aviation Institute

Spring 2013

Executive Summary

The Akron-Canton Airport is classified as a small-hub primary commercial service airport; Small-hub

airports are defined as airports that enplane 0.05 percent to 0.25 percent of total U.S. passenger

enplanements. This Airport is located in the state of Ohio in between the city of Akron, OH and Canton,

OH covering a total of 2,400 acres. This is a convenient location according to www.businessweek.com; in

2007 the city of Akron, OH was ranked as the 16th best place to raise a family in the country. The Akron-

Canton Airport (CAK) was opened since October 5th 1942, when the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAA)

approved the construction of the Airport after the invasion of Pearl Harbor. The CAK underwent a series

of development such as the installation of the first Instrument Landing System in 1947, a terminal

expansion in 1962; an 800-feet extension made to Runway 1/19 in 1968, and in 1980, an extension was

made to Runway 5/23. The Akron-Canton Airport Reference Code is C-III which corresponds to Boeing

737-700 and Airbus A319 classification. The Airport has four different parking areas with a total of 3,067

parking spots. And it is also equipped with two runways Runway 1/19 and Runway 5/23. The Airport

terminal constructed in 1958, and has two levels with a total of 11 gates serving five different airlines:

AirTran Airways, Frontier Airlines, US Airways Express, Delta Airlines and United Express. And provide

flights to 13 non-stop destinations. Still regarding its facilities, the Airport has six different car rental

companies: Alamo, Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Hertz and National. Two fixed based operators and three

army facilities: the Ohio Army National Guard 1484th Transportation Company, the 137th Aviation

Regiment and the Ohio National Guard 122nd Army band.

The Akron-Canton Airport is governed by a bi-county Airport Authority and managed by Mr. Richard B.

McQueen. The Authority is a political subdivision of the State, formed by Summit and Stark Counties. In

1998 the Airport Master Plan update outlined noise as a major environment issue but authorities

implemented a series of abatement, land use and continuing program measures.

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………………1

2. Background……………………………………………………………………………………………………………1

3. Management……….………………………………………………………………………………..………………11

4. Airport Issues.…………………………………………………………………………………….…………………11

5. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….12

6. Personal Observation…………………………………………………………………………………….…….13

Akron-Canton Regional Airport-Ali 1

Introduction

The Akron-Canton Regional Airport (CAK) is a small-hub commercial service airport located in the city of

Green, OH in the state of Ohio; midway between the city of Akron, OH and Canton, OH as shown in

Figure 1. After a series of multiple improvements and its two runways the Airport is able to connect this

community to the rest of the world. Despite its size, the Akron-Canton Airport is the home three Army

facilities. This report is on the Akron-Canton Airport and will outline the all the information concerning

this Airport and how authorities were able to use its modest facilities and equipment to accommodate

and provide the community with access to the national air transport system.

Background

The Akron-Canton Regional Airport is located 10 nautical miles south-east of Akron, OH and

approximately the distance north of Canton, OH in the northeastern Ohio and sits at an elevation of

1,225 feet. The Airport sits at the limit of two counties; indeed it covers 2,400 acres of land south of the

Summit County with a small portion of its runways in the Stark County. The Airport is accessible form

the Interstate 77 completed in 1966 which connects the city of Cleveland 35 nautical miles north and

both downtowns Akron and Canton as shown in figure 2. A service area is the area from which an airport

draws its customers and visitors its size is determined upon the average drive time, the local market

competition and some socioeconomic factors. The Airport’s service area is within 90 minute drive time.

The CAK service area is made of the primary service area and the secondary service area. The primary

service area covers Summit County and is adjacent to the following counties: Medina, Wayne, Stark,

Portage, and Carroll. And the secondary service area has the following counties: Geauga, Cuyahoga,

Lorain, Huron, Ashland, Holmes, Tuscarawas, Coshocton, and Guernsey. (Airport Master Plan 2012).


The community of Green, OH has more than 25,000 residents. In 2007 according to

www.businessweek.com the city was ranked as the 16th best place to raise a family based on its

excellent school system, ample park land and green space (City of green. (n.d.). About The City Of Green.

In City Of Green.

But the Airport’s history goes back to October 5th 1942, when the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAA)

approved $2,000,000 for the construction of the Airport after the proposition to strengthen the United

States air defense right after the invasion of Pearl Harbor. In December 1942, $200,000 was transferred

to the Canton City Council from the Timken War Profit Tax to purchase land for the Airport. The CAA

settled on the site north of Canton and south of Greensburg-Greentown Road in Summit County. The

site was chosen for its excellent elevation and room for expansion. After a five-month hold on all

projects regarding airport not involved directly to the war, the CAA presented a bid to Julius Porath and

Son Company of Detroit, MI for the construction of the Airport. On October 6th 1944, the construction

started officially and ended in October 1946, with the inauguration of the Akron-Canton Regional Airport

on October 12; and the Airport underwent several improvements over time such as the first Instrument

Landing System installed on May 1st 1947. Also United and American Airlines followed by Capital and

Eastern Airlines moved from Akron Municipal to Akron-Canton Regional Airport to provide service on

July 1st 1948. Airmail service began on August 24th, 1948 and in October 1948; the Ohio National Army

Guard moved their operation to CAK from Akron Municipal. By 1953, due to the increase in the

passenger traffic which was greater than the capacity of the terminal a new $2.08 million terminal was

being constructed; the terminal was in place and dedicated in 1961 with an expansion in 1962 for

additional holds room in the departure hallways. In 1968, an 800 feet extension was made to the

Runway 1/19. The Airport experienced a series of significant development first the construction of the

facility Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) as well as the Snow Removal Equipment (SRE) facility

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were built in 1976. Also an increase in the short-term parking lot and the construction of Northwest

general aviation apron was made in 1978. An extension of the runway 5/23 was made in the 1980’s and

the construction of the Goodyear, Goodrich, Firestone, GenCorp, and Air Camis hangars. In 2005,

Runway 14/32 primarily used for general aviation traffic was decommissioned and converted to Taxiway

K. The Airport underwent a runway extension in November 2010. (Airport Master Plan 2012).

This section will present the existing and future facilities at the Airport. First of all, Facilities at an airport

are designed according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airport Reference Code (ARC)

(Figure 3). The ARC is a system of classification using two data: the approach speed and the wingspan of

the type of aircraft that has a minimum of 500 annual itinerant operations; an itinerant operation is

defined as the takeoff or landing of an aircraft going from one airport to another. The ARC nomenclature

consists of a letter that designates the aircraft Approach Category (determined by approach speed) and

a roman numeral that designates the Airplane Design Group (ADG) determined by wingspan or tail

height. The ARC is important in designing the landside facilities because it affects runway and taxiway

dimensions, separation standards, pavement marking standards, and other safety restrictions. Also the

ARC is used in combination with the airport design criteria provide in the FAA Advisory Circular

150/5300-13, Airport Design.

By the FAA’s definition a design or critical aircraft is a type of aircraft with a minimum of 500 annual

itinerant at the Airport; this is the most demanding aircraft type. In 1998, the Master Plan identified the

Boeing 737-400 and the McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51 as critical aircraft. The review of the 2011

operation data indicates that the Boeing 717-200, Boeing 737-700, and Airbus A319 all three classified in

the ARC in the C-III category have fulfill the critical aircraft requirements for CAK. Therefore facilities

should be constructed to handle an ARC C-III category aircraft.


The Airport authorities have signed a contract with the Standard Parking Corporation to operate the

airport parking. The Airport provides 3,067 parking spots with its four parking lots: the short-term, long-

term, economic and overflow. The short-term parking is the closest to the terminal and allows up to 48

hours of parking time. The long-term parking area is right behind the short-term parking area and has

the most number of spots and can be used for several days. The Economy parking is the furthest and

shuttle are provided to the economy parking area. The overflow lot is used only during peak parking

periods. Table 1 details the parking spaces. And figure 4 is a map of the parking lots.

Table 1- Parking lots

Parking lots Spaces

Short-term 208

Long-term 1,506

Economy 1,169

Overflow 161

Total 3,067

As a matter of fact, the airfield has two active runways: Runway 5/23 which is the primary runway and

Runway 1/19 they are both made of asphalt, have high intensity runway lights (HIRL), medium-intensity

approach lighting system (MALSR) and precision markings. A precision approach provides both

horizontal and vertical guidance to pilots as their aircraft descends to land while a non-precision

approach provides only horizontal guidance to the runway end. Runway 5/23 is 8,204 feet long and 150


feet wide the Runway has the four lights precision approach path indicator (PAPI) at both ends; also it is

equipped with the instrument landing system (ILS), the Very high frequency Omnidirectional Radar

(VOR) and the general positioning system (GPS). And Runway 1/19 is 7,601 long and 150 feet wide and

has the four lights PAPI only at the end of Runway 19 and is equipped with the following navigational

aids ILS and GPS. The Airport’s taxiway system connects the runways to aircraft parking aprons, storage

hangars and other facilities (figure 5) is a map of the taxiway at the Akron-Canton Airport.

The Akron-Canton Airport has five aprons also referred as ramps used for short and long-term parking of

aircraft for loading and unloading of passengers and goods. The terminal apron is 58,000 square yards

made of cement and offers 11 gates positions that can handle aircraft as large as a Boeing 757. The

general aviation aprons are two and made of asphalt they provide parking for transient aircraft. The

Ohio National Army aprons is occupied by the 237th support battalion and located out of the movement

area controlled by the air traffic control tower. It is 77,800 square yards made of asphalt and provides

parking for the Army’s based helicopter fleet as well as transient military fixed-wing and rotor aircraft.

Military Aviation Preservation Society (MAPS) Museum Apron is 16,700 squared yards and made of

asphalt; the apron is exclusively used by the MAPS aircraft storage and maintenance. De-Icing apron has

two concretes de-icing pads both can hold up to six aircraft.

Regarding the facilities the Airport authority established a pavement management program called the

pavement condition index (PCI) which defines the type and timing of pavement maintenance and repair.

Pavements are evaluated in small segments of pavements and then rated from zero to 100 with 100

being an excellent pavement section. A PCI study for the pavement at CAK was conducted in February

2012 and figure 6 presents the conditions of the pavements. The result shows that both runways are in

good condition and most taxiways range from fair to good expect the taxiways J that was given a poor

rating. (Airport Master Plan 2012).


The Airport’s passenger terminal was constructed in 1958 and has two levels with a total of 11 gates

among them 10 are in service and only Gate 2 is currently inactive. The main terminal level is served by

the terminal access road which is located along Lauby Road right at the exit of the interstate 77; the

terminal access road is comprised of four lanes. The western most lane is used for either dropping off

departing passengers or picking up arriving passengers. The inner two lanes are used for vehicle

circulation. And the last lane is used by the law enforcement for parking department vehicle.The

terminal at Akron-Canton Airport is based on a linear layout. The ticketing lobby is located north of the

terminal; standing as the entrance from the terminal curbside for enplaning passengers it is used for

processing passengers to check-in for flights, obtain boarding passes and drop off baggage to be checked

and screened prior to being loaded onto outbound aircraft. There are currently five commercial air

carriers’ counters in service, with a sixth counter position that is inactive. The terminal has also four

inbound baggage claims utilized by five air carriers. Inside the passenger’s terminal there are the

passenger security areas including the passenger’s security screening checkpoint. Existing concessions

throughout the terminal facility provide a varied selection of goods and services for passengers and

amenities such as the Ohio Desk Business Center, children’s play area, massage chairs and vending

areas; the MSE International, LLC, currently operates not only the food and beverage concessions, but

also the magazine and book concessions. There are currently six rental car companies that operate at

the Airport: Alamo, Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Hertz and National with car’s lot can take up to 115 cars.

The existing Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) is a central element to the terminal facility, rising six stories

above the ground level of the terminal. The tower provides office space for CAK administration on levels

three and four, FAA Administration on level five, FAA equipment associated with the tower radar is

located on the sixth level. In addition, the passenger terminal is comprised of several areas, including

concessions, airline gates, transport security administration offices, and administrative support spaces.

As far the navigational aids (NAVAIDS) go, the Airport is equipped with a ground-based En-Route


NAVAIDS located 16 nautical miles northeast of the Airport with the three letter identifier ACO; in

addition to the NAVAIDS a satellite navigation (GPS) is also used for an en-route navigation. The Akron-

Canton Airport contains category I ILS for approaches to all runway ends. An ILS consists of a localizer, a

glide slope antenna and an approach lightning system. (Airport Master Plan 2012).

The Airport host a number of aviation and non-aviation tenants. Among five airlines provide services at

the Airport they are the following: AirTran Airways, Frontier Airlines, US Airways Express, Delta Airlines

and United Express. CAK offers daily, nonstop service to thirteen destinations in the U.S. as far west as

Denver figure 7 maps all the destinations. AirTran Airways flies the most number of destinations, they

make 12 to 17 trips per day to Atlanta-Hartsfield International Airport (ATL), Orlando International

Airport (MCO), Tampa International Airport (TPA),Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW),

General Mitchell Airport (MKE), LaGuardia Airport (LGA), and Logan International Airport (BOS); the

airline currently use 50 full-time and three part-time employees at the Airport. Frontier Airlines offers

two nonstop flights per day to Denver International Airport (DEN) using Airbus 319 and Airbus 320. They

currently staff four full-time and six part-time employees. US Airways Express provide a total of eight

nonstop, round-trip flights per day: five to Charlotte International Airport (CLT), two to Philadelphia

International Airport (PHL), and one to Reagan National Airport (DCA) using the CRJ-200 and CRJ-701,

they operate with a staff of 10 full-time and 16 part-time employees. Delta Airlines operates at CAK with

four nonstop flights per day to Atlanta and three to Detroit Metro Airport (DTW) and 14 full-time and 25

part-time staff members. Delta Airlines use the MD88, theCRJ-700 and the CRJ-200. United Express they

operate two ERJ-145s and maintain two daily flights Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) (three

during the summer season).

In addition to the previous tenants the Airport has two full-service fixed based operators(FBOs) to

provide aviation services: the McKinley Air Transport and the Ultimate Air Center. Additional aviation


services are offered at the Airport by other private companies such as Air Camis, Inc., Castle Aviation

Inc., Canton Aircraft Sales, G-Force Aviation, Inc., Jim Long Aviation, Kinny Associates, Ultimate Jet

Charters Inc. and Northstar Business Aviation, LLC. The McKinley Air Transport has a wide variety of

services including aircraft maintenance, corporate charter, car and aircraft hangar rental,

ground service equipment (GSE) repair, ground handling of aircraft, fueling services, flight

instruction, overnight accommodations with a pilot lounge. This FBO owns nine facilities at the

Airport, all located on the east side of the airfield. McKinley employs approximately 20 part-

and 28 full-time employees. The Ultimate Air Center offers amenities such as a passenger crew

lounge, lunch room, weather/flight planning, wireless internet, 250,000 square-foot transient

aircraft apron, freight handling, and hotel accommodations. Ultimate Air Center operates out of

two hangars and an attached structure on the northwest side of the airfield west of the Runway

19 threshold. They maintain a staff of six full-time and five part-time employees.

Furthermore the Akron-Canton Airport is the home of three Army facilities: the Ohio Army National

Guard’s 1484th Transportation Company, the 137th Aviation Regiment and the Ohio National Guard 122nd

Army band. The Ohio National Guard Major General, Adjutant General is Deborah A. Ashenhurst. Also

located in the National Guard complex is the Navy Operational Support Center (NOSC) Akron, which was

built in October, 2011, and is leased by the National Guard; this is a one-story 50,000 square-foot

facility.

The Airport enplanements over the five past years have increased. Table 2 presents the Airport

enplanements. And from the Terminal Area Forecast issued in January 2013 the total enplanement is

forecasted to reach the 1,064,919 by 2016 as shown in table 3.


Table 2-Airport enplanements Table 3- Airport future enplanement

Year Enplanements

2007 691,603

2008 722,337

2009 715,367

2010 771,107

2011 814,243

Source: www.faa.gov

Source: aspm.faa.gov – TAF January 2013

Table 4 details the historical Airport operation and the number of operations at the Airport has

decreased from 2007 to 2012. While the number of operations for the years 2013 to 2018 as shown in

table 5 are forecasted to increase.

Tab le 4- Airport Operations

Fiscal Year

Itinerant Local Total Operations

Air Carrier

Air Taxi General Aviation

Military Total Civil Military Total

2007 21,805 10,710 46529 1,821 80,865 23,841 719 24,560 103,977

2008 23,019 6,458 44092 2,215 75,784 22,336 785 23,121 105,142

2009 22,719 4,030 36206 1,764 64,719 19,191 506 19,697 83,722

2010 20,147 9,316 33443 2,128 65,061 14,842 625 15,467 82,881

2011 12,909 16,324 21035 1,405 51,673 15,768 996 16,764 69,610

2012 15,820 14,292 22767 986 53,865 17,902 553 18,435 72,300

http://www.faa.gov/


Source: www.faa.gov

Tab le 5- Airport future operations

Fiscal Year

Itinerant Local Total Operations

Air Carrier

Air Taxi General Aviation

Military Total Civil Military Total

2013 15,903 14,375 20,629 960 51,867 17,345 551 17,896 69,763

2014 16,945 13,974 20,592 960 52,471 17,414 551 17,965 70,436

2015 18,028 13,547 20,555 960 53,090 17,484 551 18,035 71,125

2016 19,152 13,093 20,518 960 53,723 17,554 551 18,105 71,828

2017 20,319 12,612 20,481 960 54,372 17,624 551 18,175 72,547

2018 21,531 12,102 20,444 960 55,037 17,694 551 18,245 73,282

Source: aspm.faa.gov – TAF January 2013

The following Pie chart displays a statistic of the based aircraft at the Akron-Canton Airport

Chart 1- Based Aircraft

Source: www.gcr1.com/5010WEB - Based Aircraft & Operations

http://www.gcr1.com/5010WEB

http://www.faa.gov/


Management

The Akron-Canton Airport is governed by a bi-county Airport Authority. The Authority is a political

subdivision of the State, formed by Summit and Stark Counties under Section 308 of the Ohio Revised

Code. The eight-member board of trustees is comprised of four members appointed by the Stark County

Commissioners and four members appointed by the Summit County Executive (and approved by

Council). The eight board members serve four year terms, serve at the discretion of the appointing

county,and can be reappointed indefinitely. The Airport manager is Richard B. McQueen promoted in

2008 (Akron-Canton Regional Airport (n.d.). In Airport and Aircraft Information). He graduated from his

master’s program in public administration at Western Michigan University. (Akron-Canton Regional

Airport (n.d.). In Business Profiles and Company Information.)

Airport Issues

The 1998 CAK Mater Plan update outlined an extension of both runways which would require the

relocation of associated navigational aids and approach lighting systems and the relocation of two roads:

Mount Pleasant Road and Frank Road. But also closing the Runway 14/32 to construct a 4,000 feet

runway parallel to Runway 5/23, expand airport maintenance storage facilities and Identifying unusable

airport property for expansion of the Foreign Trade Zone were in the Master Plan update. Failure to

complete these development projects will prevent the Airport from providing unforeseeable operations.

In 1997, CAK developed an FAR Part 150 Noise Compatibility Program (NCP) as noise is the


major issue the Airport is dealing with. The 1997 NCP the Airport outlined eight noise

abatement measures, nine land use measures, and seven continuing program measures all

with the specific objectives of eliminating all existing and future incompatible dwellings and

residences in the CAK surrounding areas, , and minimize the effects within the 65 dB (decibels)

noise contour. Due to changing fleet mix and new aircraft and approach procedure

technologies, an update to the Noise Exposure Map (NEM) and NCP is anticipated for late 2012.

(Airport Master Plan 2012)

Conclusion

The Akron-Canton Airport (CAK) is a small-hub commercial airport whose authorities and staff members

were able use the Airport’s potential to connect the community of Akron, OH and Canton, OH to the

national airspace. Even though noise is still en issue the eight noise abatement measures, nine land use

measures, and seven continuing program measures have been implemented concerning the noise issue.

The Federal Aviation Administration National Plan of Integrated System partially supports development

projects at airport such as CAK considered important to the national air transportation system. Those

funds can support the Airport’s noise mitigation programs.

The Airport was constructed in 1946 and staring providing commercial services on July 1st of 1948 with

two air carriers: United and American Airlines and later followed by Capital and Eastern Airlines.

Currently the Airport has a total of five air carrier serving the Airport. (Master Plan 2012). And the

expanding community will require the authorities to open new destinations and use more airliners. This

will make the airport grow and probably be classified in the next decades as a medium-hub commercial


airport. A medium-hub airport is an Airport that enplane less than one percent but at least 0.25% of

total United States enplaned passengers.


Personal Observation

First of all, I was surprised to the Airport’s nomenclature. Akron-Canton Airport was name based on its

located mid-way between the two cities. And this was the first time I saw an Airport named that way.

But due to its small size it was hard to find information on the internet or on a paper based material.

Most of my research is from the Airport Master Plan 2012. But I would say the Airport is well organized

and managed by Mr Richard B. McQueen. All the facilities and resources are used properly to meet the

airport goals. And also the Airport’s numbers of operations from the years 2007 to 2012 were

decreasing and I did not find any reasons to this trend.


REFERENCE

-City of green. (n.d.). About The City Of Green. In City Of Green. Retrieved March 21, 2013, from http://www.cityofgreen.org/about-the-city-of-green

-Akron-Canton Regional Airport (n.d.). In AirNav. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from www.airnav.com/airport/KCAK

-Airport Master Plan 2012

- Akron-Canton Regional Airport (n.d.). In Airport and Aircraft Information. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from www.airport-data.com/airport/CAK/

- Akron-Canton Regional Airport (n.d.). In Business Profiles and Company Information. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from www.zoominfo.com/#!search/profile/person?personId=1191534&targetid=profile

- Based Aircraft & Operations. (n.d.). In Airport IQ 5010. Retrieved April 12, 2013, from www.gcr1.com/5010WEB/airport.cfm?Site=CAK&AptSecNum=2

http://www.gcr1.com/5010WEB/airport.cfm?Site=CAK&AptSecNum=2

http://www.zoominfo.com/#!search/profile/person?personId=1191534&targetid=profile

http://www.airport-data.com/airport/CAK/

http://www.airnav.com/airport/KCAK

http://www.cityofgreen.org/about-the-city-of-green


APPENDIX


Figure 1

Source: Master Plan- May 2012


Figure 2

SSource: Master Plan- May 2012


Figure 3


Figure 4


Figure 5


Figure 6


Figure 7

akron canton airport

Documents

akroncanton airport

airport issues

city of akron

bicounty airport authority

airport master plan

ohio national guard

different airlines

ohio army national guard