Cherry Capital Airport is a commercial and general aviation airport located in Traverse City, Michigan, United States. The airport is located 2 nmi southeast of the central business district of Traverse City. The airport is categorized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as a non-hub primary commercial service facility. Cherry Capital Airport is the third-busiest airport in Michigan, after those of Detroit and Grand Rapids. It is the largest and busiest airport in Northern Michigan, with 700,699 total passengers in 2023. The airport is owned and operated by the Northwest Regional Airport Authority, which was created in 2022. Previously, the airport was jointly owned and operated by Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties. The airport is home to U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City, which has been operational since 1946.

History

Cherry Capital Airport was opened in 1936 as Traverse City Airport, replacing Ransom Field. The airport was moved onto the Coast Guard Air Station, which at the time was a naval air station that had opened in 1946. The airport opened with four runways, all but one of which have been replaced. Remnants of the former runways exist to this day, with some being left abandoned and privately owned. In the fall of 2004, Cherry Capital opened a new terminal on the south side of the east–west runway, demolishing the old one on the north side. This project also reconfigured the runways, marking the removal of the third diagonal runway. Since then, Cherry Capital Airport has continued to grow with various carriers adding seasonal service and destinations. Cherry Capital Airport was the recipient of the 2003–04, 2004–05, and 2005–06 Balchen/Post Awards for outstanding achievement in snow and ice control in the small commercial service airport category. Soon, the airport will implement the first biometric access systems in the country. The airport is the ninth to implement the advanced security measures suggested after the September 11, 2001, attacks. This terminal is able to comply better with security regulations and supports a greater number of flights and passengers. In 2013 and 2017, the airport extended the east–west runway to accommodate more flights to more locations, possibly to upgrade to an international airport for Air Canada Express flights. In October 2017, a Costco store opened next to the airport entrance on a property leased to the warehouse chain for 60 years. The airport saw upgrades to its parking lot and TSA checkpoint in 2022. This allowed for an additional 424 parking spots and a third TSA checkpoint line that can accommodate modern screening technology. The airport also added a hybrid USO location to assist soldiers traveling through. Also in 2022, the Northwest Regional Airport Authority was established to operate the airport, after years of operation by Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties. The airport received $14 million in 2020 as part of the federal CARES act to help it maintain operations and complete upgrades during the COVID-19 pandemic. The airport set passenger records in 2021 and 2022 despite a drop in the number of flights passing through, making it the No. 3 airport in Michigan. The airport was host to campaign events held by gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon during the 2022 midterm elections. In February 2023, Cherry Capital Airport was selected as a recipient of a $5 million grant under the Airport Terminals Program, a component of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, to replace its passenger jetways to modernize the boarding process.

Facilities and aircraft

The Airport has one concourse with six gates. Cherry Capital Airport covers an area of 1026 acre at an elevation of 624 ft above mean sea level. It has two asphalt paved runways: 10/28 is 7,016 by and 18/36 is 5,378 by. For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2021, the airport had 101,106 aircraft operations, an average of 277 per day: 75% general aviation, 11% scheduled commercial, 8% air taxi, and 6% military. At that time, there were 125 aircraft based at this airport: 98 single-engine and 15 multi-engine airplanes, 5 helicopters, and 7 jets. In February 2009, Forbes magazine ranked Cherry Capital Airport second in their list of the top ten "rip-off" airports in the United States, citing an average cost per mile to travelers departing TVC of 41 cents. The airport has one fixed-base operator, AvFlight.

Ground transportation

The Bay Area Transportation Authority (BATA) serves the airport terminal and links to downtown Traverse City as well as other locations in the surrounding area.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Top domestic destinations

Accidents and incidents