Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (IATA: CLE, ICAO: KCLE, FAA LID: CLE) is an international airport in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, and is the primary airport serving Greater Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. It the largest and busiest airport in the state, as well as the 43rd-busiest airport in the U.S. by passenger numbers. Located in Cleveland's Hopkins neighborhood 9 miles (14 km) southwest of Downtown Cleveland, it is adjacent to the Glenn Research Center, one of NASA's ten major field centers.The airport has been at the forefront of several innovations that are now commonplace. It was the first airport with an air traffic control tower and a two-level design separating arrivals from departures. It was also the first airport in North America to be directly connected with a rail transit line.
Cleveland was a hub for United Airlines from the post–World War II era until the mid-1980s. After United moved out, Continental Airlines moved in, making it the dominant carrier at the airport in the 1990s and 2000s. After United and Continental merged in 2010, United closed the Cleveland hub, though it still has a flight attendant base, pilot base, and maintenance facilities at the airport and is its largest carrier by passenger count.
When United stopped using Cleveland as a hub, it closed Concourse D, but the airline kept paying to lease the facility, preventing it from being used by another airline. However, United's hub closure created an opening for low-cost carriers to enter the market, which had previously had among highest average fares in the country. Within a few years after United closed the hub, passenger traffic rebounded to where it was before the closure.
Cleveland Hopkins offers non-stop passenger service to nearly 40 destinations. Cleveland Hopkins is operated by the Cleveland Department of Port Control, which also operates Burke Lakefront Airport located downtown.