Talk to Travel Expert
1 888 616 4135
Located near Traverse City, Michigan, in the United States, Cherry Capital Airport serves both general aviation and commercial aircraft. The airport is situated two nautical miles southeast of Traverse City's downtown commercial area. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) classifies the airport as a main commercial service facility that is not a hub. With 602,626 passengers handled in 2021, Cherry Capital Airport ranked fourth in Michigan's airport traffic rankings, behind only those of Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Flint. It is also the busiest and largest airport in Northern Michigan. Northwest Regional Airport Authority was founded in 2022 and is in charge of managing the airport. Earlier, Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties shared ownership and management of the airport. Air Station Traverse City, home of the United States Coast Guard, was established in 1946 and is located at the airport.
Ransom Field was replaced by Cherry Capital Airport when it debuted as Traverse City Airport in 1936. The Coast Guard Air Station, which had been a naval air station since 1946, was where the airport was relocated. Four runways were present when the airport was opened, but all have since been rebuilt. Even now, there are remnants of the original runways, some of which are privately owned and abandoned. Cherry Capital demolished the existing terminal on the north side of the east-west runway and built a new one on the south side in time for the autumn of 2004. Additionally, as part of this redevelopment, the third diagonal runway was eliminated and the runways were rearranged. Several carriers have now added seasonal service and destinations, and Cherry Capital Airport has continued to expand. In order to handle additional flights to more destinations and perhaps upgrade to an international airport for Air Canada Express flights, the airport expanded its east-west runway in 2013 and 2017.
Cherry Capital Airport was chosen in February 2023 to replace its passenger jetways in order to improve the boarding procedure. The award is part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 and is worth $5 million. Six gates are located on one concourse of the airport. At 624 feet above mean sea level, Cherry Capital Airport occupies 1,026 acres of land. Its two runways are paved with asphalt. All people who live in or visit Northwest Michigan should choose to fly into Cherry Capital Airport.
