CLEVELAND, Ohio – The federal government has closed its investigations into safety concerns about snow and ice removal at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport that led the FAA to threaten record fines.
In a letter this week to Robert Kennedy, Cleveland’s chief of airports, the Federal Aviation Administration said that changes made at the airport since the FAA and Cleveland entered a settlement plan five years ago warranted an end to its monitoring as of July 1.
“The city of Cleveland has made substantial improvements in the processes, equipment, staffing, and management of the implementation of the snow and ice control plan,” wrote Susan Mowery-Schiak, the director of the FAA’s airports division.
“We agree that CLE is establishing a safety culture that would allow it to sustain its compliance,” Mowery-Schiak wrote. “In consideration … the FAA hereby releases the city of Cleveland from the conditions of the [settlement] and will close the four related FAA enforcement investigations.”