Akron-Canton Regional Airport

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CAK redirects here. For other uses, see CAK (disambiguation).

Akron-Canton Airport
IATA: CAK - ICAO: KCAK
Summary <tr><th colspan="2" align="left" valign="top">Airport type</th><td colspan="2" valign="top">Public</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" align="left" valign="top">Operator</th><td colspan="2" valign="top">Akron Canton Regional Airport Authority</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" align="left" valign="top">Serves</th><td colspan="2" valign="top">Akron, Ohio</td></tr>
Elevation AMSL		1,228 ft (374.3 m)
Coordinates		40°54′57.9″N, 81°26′31.9″W
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
1/19	7,601	2,317	Asphalt
5/23	7,597	2,316	Asphalt

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Akron-Canton Airport (IATA: CAK, ICAO: KCAK) is a commercial Class C airport located in southern Summit County, Ohio (a very small portion of both runways extend into Stark County,) roughly 10 miles southeast of Akron, Ohio, and roughly 10 miles northwest of Canton, Ohio. The airport is jointly operated by Summit County and Stark County. Money for the airport was initially allocated during World War II for defense purposes, but the construction stalled over a controversy relating to whether public funding of airport construction would be appropriate. As a result, private funding was essential to the initial construction of the airport, particularly in purchasing the land. The airport was dedicated on October 13, 1946, but permanent terminal facilities were not built until 1955.

The airport has two runways - 7,601, and 7,598 feet (2,317 and 2,316 m) long, both 150 feet (46 m) wide.

In 2005, 1.45 million passengers flew through Akron-Canton, over three times the number just ten years earlier. It is one of the fastest-growing airports in the Midwest, and is attracting passengers not only from the Akron/Canton area, but also from the Cleveland metropolitan area. The airport has had increases in number of passengers every year since 1995 except for 2001, and that year's lack of growth was largely blamed on the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks which slowed air travel nationwide.

Currently, the airport is going through a major expansion - adding a new terminal wing off the main concourse, new baggage areas, a food court, and improved aesthetics. The new wing of the terminal opened to passengers in May, 2006. There is also a runway extension in the works. The airport is marketing itself as "A better way to go", noting the ease of the Akron-Canton Airport in comparison to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport some 40 miles north. The airport essentially serves as a secondary "reliever" airport for Northeast Ohio.

Although the majority of the airport's traffic growth has been in the commercial sector, over 75% of all air traffic at Akron-Canton is still general aviation, since general aviation is all but nonexistent at nearby Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport.

The largest airline in passenger volume at Akron-Canton is by far AirTran Airways, and this airline is largely responsible for most of the airport's growth.

US Airways Express carrier PSA Airlines operates a hangar at CAK, where it performs both line and heavy maintenance on its fleet of Canadair Regional Jet aircraft.

Thurman Munson, catcher for the New York Yankees, was killed in his private plane attempting to land at Akron-Canton on August 2, 1979.