Grand Aire Express was an American airline based in Swanton, Ohio, US. It operated passenger and cargo charter services worldwide, as well as charter management services. Its main base began in Monroe, Michigan and then moved to Toledo Express Airport, Toledo, Ohio. with additional bases in Louisville, KY and El Paso, TX. Grand Aire Express closed down/disestablished in June 2003; however, the parent company Grand Aire Inc., is still in operation, providing On-Demand Air Charter and FBO services from their world-headquarters at the Toledo Express Airport in Swanton, Ohio. History The airline was established in 1985 by Tahir Cheema. The company originally started out of Detroit Metro Airport in 1985 and quickly expanded from a one-airplane hangar operation to a larger operation in Monroe, MI. After five years based at Monroe, Michigan, Grand Aire Express moved to new corporate headquarters at Toledo Express Airport on 4 January 1999. After winning multiple awards with Air Cargo, Ernst Young Entrepreneurs, the State of Michigan Businesses and Ohio Businesses; Grand Aire Express (GAE) closed down due to the post 9/11 airline and economy fallout. Grand Aire Incorporated, separate from Grand Aire Express, is still in business as a provider of on-demand air charter services throughout North America which includes time-critical air charters worldwide, passenger air charters, FBO services at Toledo Express Airport, and cargo handling & trucking. Accreditation and awards A.C.E. (Air Cargo Excellence) Award; Air Cargo World magazine 2005 Johnson Controls Top Logistics Vendor Award, 2007 Dell Top 100 Small Business Award 2008 Wells Fargo Asian-American Business Leadership Award 2009 Diversity Business Top 100 Small Business for Ohio Entrepreneurial & Business Excellence Hall of Fame Ernst Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 5-Time Honoree of Top 500 Small Business in the U.S. Safety Concerns and FAA Oversight From 1987 until early 1999 the Detroit FAA Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) held oversight responsibility for GAE while the operation was based in Monroe, Michigan. However, when GAE moved its headquarters to Toledo, Ohio (about 20 miles south) in early 1999 the Cleveland Flight Standards District Office took over surveillance of the company. Prior to the company's move to Toledo, GAE was led to believe by the FAA that the Detroit FSDO would retain oversight responsibilities of the company. After protests by the Cleveland FSDO, oversight was transferred from Detroit to Cleveland. At the beginning of 1999 the Cleveland FSDO began a much more