I don’t remember the details but from what I understand is that CAL and CLE had some arguments over terms and money. Rather than give in to what the city wanted, they took their ball and went home.

Even if they force a little flying into the airport, it seems like a crew domicile isn’t needed to cover 16 flights. The CLE pilots are a good group of people and I hate to see the crew base close, but with only a few flights a day, it’s really hard to justify.