Coleman A. Young International Airport

In 1989 Mayor Coleman A. Young abandoned a plan to expand the airport's runway because the adjoining Gethsemane Cemetery blocked the way, and surviving relatives protested. A few years later Southwest Airlines ended operations there, citing the city's inability to keep its promises and the need for longer runways to allow for larger jets. In 1988, complaints were registered because the city removed/discarded several families' memorial statuary without notification, replacing them with simple flat in-ground markers, stating that the statues posed a collision risk should an airplane go off the end of the runway. The city closed the segment of East McNichols (6 Mile) Road between Conner Street and French Road at the north end of the airport and annexed the land to the airport, allowing for expansion of the approach to Runway 15 and additional service roads. Satellite photos still show some ruins of the original roadbed and a driveway to a motel and topless bar that occupied the south side of McNichols near Conner. A tunneling project could in the future restore the severed East McNichols Road connection and allow an additional of the main runway to be used for aviation. The City of Detroit listed the airport as an asset which could be sold to cover debts as a result of the city's 2013 bankruptcy filing. The future of the site as a functioning airport after any sale would have been uncertain. In light of a resurgence of the Detroit's finances in the 2010s, the city council with its airport task force started looking at options for investing into the facility's future. Contributing to the Airport Redevelopment and Modernization Program were consulting companies Avion Solutions and Kimley-Horn, and included were officials of the Michigan Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration. The airport is envisioned to serve general aviation, while parts of the land currently used by aviation facilities are to be redeveloped. The main runway 15/33 could be lengthened and the supporting structures modernized. There is a proposal to close and remove the shorter runway 7/25. This could limit the options to conduct training flights, relevant in light of plans to locate the Davis Technical Aerospace High School and other educational and commercial users on the airport grounds. Removing the runway could free up 86 acres for industrial development, abetted by its position close to Conrail's railway line. In return, the airport property could be expanded by 196 acres to the west. MyFlight Tours, a helitour company, broke ground on a new building in April 2025. ==Facilities and aircraft==

The airport covers at an elevation of . It has one active asphalt runway: 15/33 is as well as deactivated runway 7/25 which was . In 2018, it was reported that plans were underway to staff the station for one 8-hour shift each day. In 2020, a construction brief published by the city outlined the work necessary to rehabilitate the fire station building. The airport has a 1929 aircraft hangar that was designed by architect Albert Kahn. The airport's passenger terminal also houses facilities for Customs and Border Protection, which serves private and cargo airplanes. The passenger terminal includes space for restaurants, retail concessions, car rental facilities, airline offices, baggage pick-up and claim areas, boarding areas and passenger lounges. The airport has three 1,000 space parking lots. ==Former airline service (1966–2000)==

The following airlines served Detroit City Airport: The June 1946 OAG shows 100 weekday departures on Pennsylvania Central, American, United, Northwest, Eastern, TWA, C&S and Michigan Central. From July 1988 through September 1993, Southwest Airlines served the airport with 10 to 13 daily flights. Chautauqua Airlines served the airport but ceased service less than a year later. Pro Air, a scheduled passenger airline, was based at the airport and grounded by the FAA due to poor maintenance performance after less than a year. The airport now has no scheduled passenger airline service. ==Accidents and incidents==

• On Saturday 19 November 1949 a Douglas C-47A-90DL (DC-3) operated by Meteor Air Transport NC54337 crashed into a house on Detroit’s east side while on a (second attempt) landing approach to Detroit City Airport. Both pilots and one occupant of the house were killed. "Probable Cause: 'The pilot's action in making a steep turn on final approach without at the same time maintaining adequate airspeed, causing the aircraft to settle to the ground.'" (This information originally derived from CAB File No. 1-0126.) Ref. Aviation Safety Network Report https://asn.flightsafety.org/asndb/336285 • On June 24, 2018, a small plane crashed en route to Young. It impacted power lines and a tree. The pilot and one passenger were killed, and a third was rescued. • On February 18, 2022, an Embraer Phenom 100 suffered a runway excursion after landing. The aircraft struck airport lighting equipment. The sole pilot on board was not injured. The probable cause was found to be the pilot's decision to land on a contaminated runway with previous reports of unfavorable braking action. == See also ==