The Lunken Airport Oversight Advisory Board and Cincinnati transportation officials Monday agreed to stop any attempts to begin scheduled passenger service to Lunken until a new master plan can be completed.

        The decision, announced at the board's monthly meeting, wasn't made official — that requires a vote on a formal resolution, expected next month.

        But it delays the possibility of such service for at least two years while officials at the 1,000-acre airport come up with a plan as to how the airport will grow and what services it will provide.

        Advisory board Chairman Rob Rubin said the agreement with city Transportation Director John Deatrick to shelve efforts to create passenger service “is a huge shift in direction.”

        “This shows a good spirit of cooperation,” said Mr. Rubin, head of the nine-person board created last year by City Council to provide advice on the best use and future of Lunken.

        Airport officials have been trying to lure passenger service to the airport on Cincinnati's east side, spending $15,000 to renovate the north terminal and seeking to improve both safety and security to meet Federal Aviation Administration standards.

        Initial plans had called for three to five flights daily that would use small regional jets or turboprops.

        Mr. Deatrick, noting the strong opposition from surrounding communities, said “this is just an acknowledgement of where people want to be.”

        Some of those opponents were on hand for the meeting, saying they were pleased by the decision.

        “We've made major strides here,” said Mel Martin of Madei ra, a member of the Lunken Neighborhood Coalition.

        The agreement also halts any further study into raising the size limit on planes that can land at Lunken. The airport had hired an outside consultant to study whether to strengthen the runways to allow even bigger planes to land at the facility.

        The decision does not affect a pending study into how much noise the airport creates, where that noise is and what the airport can do about it.

        Called a Part 150 noise study, the $250,000 program is set to begin next month, and Mr. Deatrick said he hopes it provides information that can then be used in a master plan.

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