Erie–Ottawa International Airport

An agreement to move the Vickery emergency landing field to the airport was reached in mid June 1942. The deal included a plan to increase the size of the field to 105 acres (42 ha).^[5] The site for the Peninsular Airport was acquired by the village of Port Clinton in early October 1946.^[6]

The airport was closed by the Civil Aeronautics Administration in March 1952, following the crash of a Beechcraft Bonanza a week earlier that injured the four occupants. An investigation by the CAA a week before the accident revealed that the condition of the field had deteriorated to the point that there were large ruts in the runway.^[7] By April, efforts had begun to build a 2,000-foot (610 m) stone runway to solve the problem.^[8] By late May, a dispute arose over the expiration of an exclusive rights contract by Milt Hersberger, the operator of a local air service.^[9] The possibility of continuing such a contract was rejected by the Board of Public Service and the airport committee in June, who both also proposed instituting a landing fee.^[10]

The airport's flying club was renamed the Tin Goose Flying Club in November 1961.^[11]

The subtitle Carl R. Keller Field was added the airport's name in late May 1968 to recognize the role of the eponymous former mayor and chairman of the airport advisory committee in promoting the airport.^[12] A 4,500-foot (1,400 m) east-west runway was completed in early summer 1968.^[13] It was selected as the location for the county's regional airport in early September, but later that month a group seeking that designation for the Griffing Sandusky Airport prevented the associated $100,000 grant from being assigned to it.^[14][15] The airport was dedicated on 13 October 1968 and the following month the airport authority won a ruling allowing it to continue to apply for the grant.^[16][17] By February 1970, the facility's name had been changed to the Regional Erie–Ottawa County Airport.^[18] By September, a project to lengthen the east-west runway to 5,000 feet (1,500 m) and widen the north-south runway to 65 feet (20 m) was nearly complete.^[19] Construction to extend the north-south runway to 4,000 feet (1,200 m) had begun by early October 1971.^[20][21]

Island Airlines, which had operated out of the airport since 1930 was sold to Griffing Flying Service in September 1992.^[22][23]

An increase in parking lot fees in November 2000 caused irritation for people that flew into the airport from islands in Lake Erie.^[24] Avion Management Services, the airport operator, left in May 2001 due to a lack of business.^[25] By mid October 2002, the ramp was being expanded to accommodate additional jet traffic.^[26]

Following the construction of a Border Patrol facility in 2014, it became Erie–Ottawa International Airport. Work on a 1,760-square-foot (164 m²) Customs Service office began in September 2016.^[27]

The airport received a series of grants starting in the mid-2010s, including: $639,000 in 2015 to rehabilitate the paved surfaces, $300,000 in 2017 to update its master plan and layout, $4.5 million in 2019 to build additional taxiways to allow for more hangar space at the airport and upgrade lighting, and $1.1 million in 2021 to rehabilitate a taxi lane and improve structural integrity at parking aprons.^{[28][29][30][31]}

As of 2024, the airport was raising $10.3 million to upgrade its aircraft parking area. In 2023, Senator Sherrod Brown announced that a $294,000 grant was secured to begin construction of a new airplane parking ramp or new hangar, funded by the FAA Airport Terminal Program included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that was signed into law by President Joe Biden.^[32][33]

• On 14 March 1952, a Beechcraft Bonanza crashed after taking off from the airport, injuring the pilot and three passengers.^[38][7]
• On 21 August 1972, a Ford Trimotor crashed after taking off from the airport.^[39]
• On 26 July 1977, a Cessna 172 crashed while taking off from the airport.^[40]
• On October 7, 1990, a Beech V35 crashed while flying an instrument approach procedure to the Erie–Ottawa International Airport. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's failure to follow the proper instrument procedure and his failure to maintain the minimum descent altitude during an approach at night in instrument meteorological conditions.^[41]
• On December 29, 2014, a small plane crashed after takeoff from the Erie–Ottawa International Airport.^[42]
• On September 14, 2021, a Piper PA-32 Cherokee Six landed with its landing gear up at the Erie–Ottawa International Airport.^[43]

• List of airports in Ohio