TRAVERSE CITY — The air show is back on track for the 2024 National Cherry Festival following months of uncertainty and debate.
Board members of the Northwest Regional Airport Authority, which oversees Cherry Capital Airport, voted 7-1 Monday afternoon to approve a new three-year agreement with the NCF to allow the air show to continue.
Paul Beachnau, who represents Otsego County on the NRAA board, voted against the resolution.
The detailed 26-page agreement (including exhibits) follows months of negotiations and sometimes heated arguments about how high-performance aircraft can use TVC airport during the festival.
Monday’s agreement clears the way for the U.S. Navy Blue Angels to perform their aerobatic show from Friday, June 28, to Sunday, June 30, during specific times. Circling and practice flights will be allowed on Thursday, June 27.
Lower-speed and propeller-driven aircraft will perform at other times.
In the agreement, both sides pledge to minimize disruption to air carrier service at TVC. Concern about that disruption has been a key stumbling block between the two parties since in-depth discussions began last fall.
The air show is arguably the highlight of the Cherry Festival, which brings more than half a million visitors and area residents to the Traverse City waterfront each year.
NRAA Board Chairman Steve Plamondon said the agreement was the result of weeks of intense face-to-face meetings between the two parties after negotiations broke down on March 12. He thanked those directly involved for staying with the process despite “setbacks” in early April.
Kat Paye, executive director of the Cherry Festival, called the agreement a “great resolution” that was the fruit of “people coming together to hammer out the logistics.”
See Tuesday’s Record-Eagle e-paper for more on the new agreement.