By Gregory Korte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

A start-up airline plans to begin scheduled passenger flights out of Cincinnati's Lunken Airport beginning next year.

Jetlink Express wants to establish downtown-to-downtown service from Cincinnati to similar airports in Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and St. Louis.

The service would begin with charter flights on a 19-seat turboprop starting May 1, , with 14 flights a day by September. Next year, the airline hopes to move up to 50-seat regional jets.

That move would require a change in the airport's Federal Aviation Administration certification.

And it would almost certainly spark another debate over airport noise on Cincinnati's east side and the future of Lunken Airport.

In December, Cincinnati City Council voted 7-2 to freeze the airport's weight limit at 70,000 pounds, effectively barring regularly scheduled DC-9s or Gulfstream Vs from landing at Lunken.

That limit is in place until an airport noise study is completed.

Jetlink Express proposes using 51,000-pound Canadairs. However, the FAA limits the airport to scheduled passenger flights of 30 seats or fewer, so the city would have to seek a change in the airport's certification.

City officials will brief the Lunken Airport Oversight Advisory Board about the proposal Monday.

Jetlink Express founder David Cimo, a former executive at a half-dozen commuter airlines in the country, could not be reached for comment Friday.

The Lunken Neighborhood Coalition, which consists of east-side residents, says the city needs to strike a balance between an economically viable airport and quiet, livable neighborhoods.

"This is a very important step for this airport to be taking, and it should be a political decision by the City Council," said Robert L. Roark, a pilot from Indian Hill.

"I think that frequency is the real issue."

E-mail gkorte@enquirer.com